


A Whole New Universe

by Peridawesome



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/F, Read The Peridot Effect if you're lost, This is the sequel to that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 37,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22692994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peridawesome/pseuds/Peridawesome
Summary: Take a trip through the eyes of a unique person born from one-of-a-kind circumstances, and whose life was impacted by things beyond understanding.(Story will occasionally dip into other character's perspectives, and you'll know when that happens.)
Relationships: Amethyst/Pearl (Steven Universe), Connie Maheswaran/Nora Universe, Greg Universe & Nora Universe, Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 200
Kudos: 100





	1. Shimmer and Shine

Nora scrambled through the aisles of the Big Donut, hoping desperately that perhaps she was mistaken. She moved back and forth to check again and again, but it wouldn't change no matter what she did. She didn't want to accept it, but it appeared there was no sense in denying it...  
  
"T-They discontinued Lion Lickers?!" Nora exclaimed, letting her face fall onto the counter that Sadie stood behind, causing a bit of pain in her nose. "O-ow... S-Sadie, why would they do this?!"  
  
Trying to calm down the emotionally distraught child, the retail worker responded with a sympathetic smile, "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for it, Nora. Besides, now that they're discontinued, you have a chance to try everything else we sell!"  
  
"Y-yeah, I guess you're right, but... Lion Lickers had somethin' special..."  
  
Passing by, Lars sarcastically remarked, "Yeah, they were specially made to be _gross!_ It's about time they stopped selling those sludge-sicles!"  
  
"Aw, c'mon Lars, don't be mean! Everyone has their own tastes!" Sadie berated him on Nora's behalf.

However, they weren't particularly paying attention to Lars's insult, getting lost in thought about what they would do without their favorite snack.

When they realized Lars noticed their dissociative state, though, they snapped out of it and asked, "Um, c-can I get one pink frosted donut?"  
  
"Oh, of course!" she responded, soon getting to work getting her order.

As she munched on her donut on the way back, Nora acknowledged internally that it wasn’t the end of the world because her favorite snack was discontinued- as Sadie said, there were a lot of other options for snacks to munch on. But even still, Lion Lickers had been a part of her life for quite some time, and it was weird to have them suddenly be gone. How would she adjust to this alteration to her life? She at least felt comfortable knowing her guardians- both the magical ones and her non-magical one- would be able to comfort her in this situation.   
  
“Hey guys, something really important happened today-  _ oh my goodness!” _ _   
_ _   
_ Nora jumped back in shock as she was attacked by a strange centipede creature. Before she could get hurt, though, the creature was pulled away by a familiar whip and then swiftly squeezed until it poofed. They soon realized that these things were infesting the house, with almost all the Crystal Gems working to try and stop them.   
  
As she attempted to lasso another one, Amethyst remarked, “Hey Nora, knock next time, that was a close call!”   
  
“S-sorry! Um, what’s going on?”   
  
As she punched another one hard enough to poof it, Bismuth explained, “We were trying to get these things taken care of before you got home but they really got outta control!”   
  
“W-where’s Peridot, Lapis, and Spinel, then? Did they get hurt?” Nora asked with concern while trying to keep her distance, only having a half-eaten donut and a paper bag as a weapon.   
  
Whilst casually snapping the neck of one of the creatures before poofing it with a spear through the chest, Pearl elaborated vaguely, “Oh no, they just had something else to do, and we didn’t need all that help!”   
  
“Ah, okay… didn’t you say you were gonna tell me what the deal was with these Gem monsters…?”   
  
Before she could receive a response, the three remaining Crystal Gems entered just as the final of the creatures were poofed, and they were carrying a large mini-fridge together.    
  
With an enthusiastic expression, Spinel exclaimed, “We got ourselves a surprise!”   
  
“No, we got  _ Nora  _ a surprise, this isn’t a surprise for us,” Peridot corrected, only for Lapis to give her a teasing poke, making her blush and lose her grip on the fridge.

As a result, the three ended up dropping the mini-fridge onto the ground, and the door swung open to reveal a marvelous sight: a large supply of ice cream!   


“Wow, that’s a lot of… what are those, actually? I don’t think I’ve seen them before…”   
  
With a smile, Lapis informed him, “We heard about Lion Lickers being discontinued, and wanted to make you feel better, so we decided to get you a new ice cream to help you cope, so we stocked up on Cookie Cats!”   
  
“Heheh, yep! And I heard they’re even better than Lion Lickers!” Spinel exclaimed with an infectious smile.   
  
The twelve-year-old girl hadn’t exactly gotten too acquainted with these snacks over the years she’s been on this Earth. She vaguely recalled seeing a commercial advertising them with a jingle but it sort of got jumbled up over the years. However, she couldn’t resist trying out a new snack, especially when they were being delivered by her friends. So, she picked one up, unwrapped it, and took a bite…   
  
A feeling of euphoria washed over her from the mere taste of this snack. She was feeling so many positive emotions all at once- excitement at finding a snack great enough to replace Lion Lickers, admiration in her Gem guardians for caring enough to do this for her, appreciation that she could spend this moment with nearly everyone she loved…   
  
With a gasp, Peridot proclaimed, “Oh my stars, Nora, look at your gem!” 

  
“W-What about my- o-oh wow!”  
  
When she looked down, she realized her Gem was actually glowing from underneath her shirt! While she’s been told about it happening once or twice before, she had never remembered seeing it happen herself!   
  
Urgently, Amethyst urged, “Try to summon your weapon!”  
  
From seeing the Gems fight in the Sky Arena, she had recalled how they had summoned their weapons- reaching for their Gems and just pulling them out without a thought. She had no idea what her weapon was, but she hoped if she just closed her eyes, reached for her gem, and pictured taking something out of it, it might work…  
  
“...should I open my eyes…?”  
  
Sounding even more excited than before, Peridot urged, “Y-yes, certainly!”  
  
Opening one eye at a time, Nora gasped to see she was holding what looked like a giant pink shield! However, her excitement caused her to flinch and lose her grip. Thus, her first Gem weapon ended up smashing through a window and into the sky.  


“Did I just hear a window break??” Greg called from upstairs in his room.   
  
Reassuringly, Bismuth replied, “Don’t worry, I’m on it!”   
  
As she worked to fix the broken window, Nora lamented, “I-I don’t know how I did that, so I don’t know how to do it again! I mean, not the window part, just summoning my weapon!”   
  
“Hmm, well, maybe it had to do with you being really happy? I dunno, just spitballin’,” Spinel remarked with a shrug. 

This provoked some curiosity in her as she admitted, “I did feel really happy when I pulled my shield out, that could be it, Spinel! Quick, guys, make me happy again!”   
  
Before anyone could go about that task, they heard an ominous cry. Quickly, the Gems bubbled and sent away the poofed gems remaining in the room before summoning their weapons and heading to the door.   
  
“W-what’s going on now?”   
  
Garnet responded briefly, “The mother is nearby, as we suspected. Nora, you should stay inside, we’ll go out and take care of her.”   
  
This was not exactly what she had hoped for- it seemed like she was having a breakthrough when it came to her powers, only for something to interrupt and leave her with no real answers. Could she really just let the Gems take care of this on their own when she was so close to becoming a real Crystal Gem? Unsure of what to do, Nora went upstairs to where her dad was practicing guitar in his room and gave a knock at his door.   
  
Without any wait, he answered with a smile and greeted, "Hey kiddo, you alright?"  
  
"I-I dunno. I know the Gems probably have it handled, but I was getting really close to learning how to use my shield, and if I don't figure it out now, I don't know when I will!"  
  
He gave her a pat on the shoulder and assured her, "Oh, you shouldn't worry so much about getting it done as quickly as possible. You can't exactly become skilled in anything in a day! And if it's any consolation, I don't think the Gems have it handled at all."  
  
She was about to thank him for that before realizing what he just said, and swiftly she rushed to the window to see what he meant. It appeared he was right- the Gems were having trouble combatting the mother of this centipede family, and were frantically trying to find a way to keep it at bay.  
  
"Um, dad, do you give me permission to run out there and try to use my shield to save them?"  
  
After a moment of thought, he responded, "Alright, but don't stay out there if you don't feel ready, that'll only be more dangerous!"  
  
She nodded confidently before giving him a quick hug, running downstairs, and sprinting from the porch to where the Gems were fighting- but not before grabbing that mini-fridge.  
  
"N-Nora? What are you doing out here? This isn't safe!" Pearl exclaimed with concern as she narrowly dodged some acid spit from their foe.  
  
Not listening, she quickly unwrapped a Cookie Cat and took a bite out of it whilst closing her eyes, wanting to let both the flavor and the emotions that came with it wash over her. However, this wasn't the same situation as before- she wasn't in a calm quiet environment, she was in a situation where she knew that her family was in danger. Thus, it felt difficult to focus herself on anything but what she was risking by not summoning her shield!  
  
Urgently, Amethyst told Nora while trying to use her whip to restrain the large creature, "I know you want to help, but we don't want you hurt, dude!"  
  
The other Crystal Gems began to urge her to go back inside where it was safe and not worry, all while they looked to be in a bad situation. She knew they meant well, but all of this pressure and these conflicting feelings were beginning to stress her out. Her vision began to feel fuzzy, and she saw their faces grow more concerned.  
  
The ground shook, pink filled her vision, and then she fell to the ground with her energy drained. It felt like all of it happened in a second, but it couldn't've, given the way they had changed positions. Soon, her hearing began to adjust...  
  
"-awesome dude! How did you do that?"  
  
Blinking, Nora questioned, "D-do what?"  
  
"C'mon, don't be humble- you just hit the ground and made that Centipeedle momma poof from the force, and you turned pink, too!" Amethyst explained.  
  
Thoughtfully, Pearl wondered, "Could this be one of Pink Diamond's powers...? I've never seen her do anything like that..."  
  
"Doesn't matter- what does matter, though, is that we need to give Nora some training to hone her skills," Bismuth decided with a grin.  
  
This was definitely exciting, but the child just focused on what she even did. It appeared the ground had been cracked by whatever she did, but strangely, she didn't even feel anything in her fists. It didn't make sense... but maybe that made the most sense of all.


	2. Ey in the Skye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange Homeworld monitoring device appears above Beach City, leading to intrigue and drama.

Spinel and Nora waltzed down the street with a specific destination in mind: Fish Stew Pizza! It was ten minutes from closing, but surely, they'd make an exception for one of their favorite customers and her cool Gem friend!  
  
"We do _not_ make exceptions, not now or ever! We have no time to make a new pizza before closing, and we are very strict!"  
  
For a moment, it seemed as if the paternal owner of the restaurant had completely shattered their dreams of a good midday meal. However, their hopes were brought back to life as one of the daughters (Kiki, from what Nora could remember) stepped into view holding a box of pizza.  
  
With a smile, the teen remarked, "We may not have to make a _new_ one, but we _do_ have an already-made one ready for purchase!"  
  
"...you win this round, Universe. That'll be $20.00."  
  
For a second, she was worried maybe she would be unable to purchase due to not having anything on her, but Spinel soon demonstrated her well-prepared self by summoning a twenty from her Gem and placing it in the palm of the owner. Soon, the transaction was complete, and the two turned and left with joy in their hearts!  
  
Not willing to wait too much longer to chow down, the two decided to have Spinel stretch her arms out so the pizza box was well-balanced while her hands could still grab and toss slices into her mouth. In Nora's mind, it was quite an efficient and enjoyable way to enjoy a meal, especially when looking up at the sky and seeing the sun begin to set, and the other red sun grow larger in the sky... wait, what?  
  
Stopping herself from eating another slide, she questioned, "Spinel, what is that?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh, I dunno, I've never seen anything like that before! Wanna go ask the others? It looks like they're takin' a peek!"  
  
She pointed a finger to where Pearl, Garnet, Bismuth, and Amethyst were crowded around a telescope, while Lapis was holding Peridot in her arms flying her closer in order to get a good look at the strange object. Soon, the two came back down to the Earth, with the up-close look apparently not making her any happier.  
  
Quickly closing their box of pizza and placing it safely on the ground, the two remaining CGs dashed over, and Nora questioned, "W-what's going on with that thing up there?"  
  
"It's a Red Eye," Bismuth explained, "Homeworld used- or, uses 'em for getting a good look at a planet without leaving their comfy thrones."  
  
Under her breath, Peridot muttered, "I wouldn't have expected..."  
  
"Whatcha talkin' about, Peridot?"  
  
Responding to the child's question, she admitted, "W-well, you already know what I told you about my uh, alternate reality I suppose? Well, in that reality, I had been the one who sent the Red Eye in order to check if there were any Gems on Earth. Honestly, I didn't think we'd end up seeing one."  
  
"They'd be bound to send one of those no matter who was there to do it. Now we just gotta try and get rid of it," Garnet lamented.   
  
With a sigh, Pearl remarked, "Maybe if we had Rose's cannon, but..."  
  
"Mom had a cannon?? I thought you guys told me everything about her!"  
  
Reassuringly, Bismuth responded, "We told you everything we thought you needed to know- in the grand scheme of things, one specific weapon isn't exactly the most important thing in the world."  
  
"Well, it sounds important now! What is it and where can I find it??"  
  
Patting her on the head to keep her from getting too excited, Pearl soon explained, "It was called the Laser Light Cannon, and I recall Rose used it famously during the War to take out a multitude of Gem soldiers! Bismuth created it herself, and I really admire her craft!"  
  
"Oh please, you're just sayin' that because it's pink," Bismuth remarked teasingly, causing Pearl to blush and laugh awkwardly.  
  
The youngest in the conversation felt some strange vibes going on and had more questions now than before (like what _take out_ meant and why that would make Pearl laugh) but knew the importance of finding that cannon, so she gave a hearty suggestion: "Do you think dad knows where it is?"  
  
"Eheheh, Greg, you mean? I'm not sure..."   
  
Excitedly, Nora responded as she began running off, " _I'm not sure_ means you don't know so that means he might know where it is! Thanks guys, you can count on me and Greg!"  
  
"...man, Pearl, you really know how to get her going," Amethyst teased with an elbow before continuing with Garnet's plan of hurling her at the Eye.  
  
After entering the house, she came upstairs and gave a knock to Greg's door while calling out, "Daaad, I need something magical and important, please!"  
  
"Alright, alright, you said please, so..." he joked as he soon came to the door and answered. "What's this about magic? You know I'm not exactly an expert on this stuff."  
  
Giving a nod, she elaborated, "Mom had this thing called a Laser Light Cannon that apparently was really scary and made Homeworld Gems run away, and the Gems don't know where it is, and I didn't know it existed until now, so that means you should know since mom loves you!"  
  
"Slow down there, kiddo, I can only hear so much at once. Laser Light Cannon? I think I remember seeing that when we first got that garage cleaned up..."  
  
Nora Universe had remembered hearing about this before- when she was first born, the Gems decided to chip in on building a house for her and dad, and in that process, they went ahead and cleaned out the garage. She considered the idea that Greg must've been in charge of sorting things out there, and thus, the Gems would've forgotten the Laser Light Cannon was even there.  
  
Beaming excitedly, Nora asked, "Do you think it could still be in the garage?"  
  
"Heh, well, if the Gems don't know where it is, it couldn't be in any of their rooms, and I don't think it could fit through the door, so that's our best bet!"  
  
Getting even giddier, she soon held his hand and led him to the garage, and then waited for him to open it for her since she never figured out how it worked. Soon, all the glory of the garage was revealed! His van which he had once been forced to live in due to not having a house was now parked squarely inside, and there was plenty of room for everything else important to be assorted on either side of it- including a framed picture of Greg and Rose.  
  
She looked at it with admiration and admitted, "I don't think I've seen any photos of her before, only paintings! And she looks so pretty!"  
  
"Yeah, she really does. I can't believe she gave a guy like me a chance..."  
  
In response, Nora assured him as she placed the photo squarely in its spot, "It's because you're a cool guy, dad!"  
  
"Oh yeah, almost forgot," he remarked bashfully, scratching the back of his head as he searched alongside her.   
  
Eventually, she tripped and had to be caught before she could fall on her face, and the two realized what nearly caused this injury: the Laser Light Cannon! Urgently, she tried to lift it up but found that to be a difficult task.  
  
Frustrated, Nora bemoaned, "Crystal Gems are supposed to be strong but I can't even lift a Laser Light Cannon!"  
  
"Aw geez, don't beat yourself up, it looks pretty heavy! And y'know what I always say: if every porkchop were perfect..."  
  
Finishing with a smile now, she responded, "We wouldn't have hot dogs! Heheh, yeah, you're right, I guess. But how do we get this out of here?"  
  
The two looked between the Laser Light Cannon and the van, and slowly gathered an idea...  
  
Minutes later, they managed to lug the Cannon into the back of the van, and though it was still heavy, the van was sturdy enough to hold up to its weight. Soon, they began to drive off and hope they weren't too slowed down.  
  
"Hey dad, can we listen to your songs while we drive?"  
  
With an embarrassed laugh, he admitted, "I-I dunno, it's weird to listen to my own songs after all these years."  
  
"C'mon, I need some motivational music if I wanna save Beach City from an eyeball!"  
  
Having to concede to that point, he reluctantly popped in a tape of his best classic hits: Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart. Though at first, he felt awkward hearing it, seeing his daughter singing along enthusiastically as she would with any other pop singer gave him a boost in confidence.  
  
However, attention shifted from this father-daughter moment to the threat looming toward Beach City. It appeared to have a strange gravitational pull, threatening to suck things in toward it with its mass.  
  
They opened the van's back-door and revealed the Laser Light Cannon to the Gems, and they rushed over to get it out, being able to do so without much issue. However, they were struggling now to figure out how to actually activate it.  
  
Sighing with frustration, Pearl groaned, "T-this is getting ridiculous! Why wouldn't we know how Rose's cannon activated?!"  
  
"If Greg knew where it was, maybe Greg knows?" Spinel suggested, whilst trying to keep herself from getting sucked up toward the Red Eye.  
  
This began to make Nora think- Rose trusted Greg to keep hold of it, and she loved him enough to magically vanish and create a baby for him (however that works), so maybe this thing has to be activated through some sort of saying that reminds her of him...  
  
"If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs!" Nora whispered to the device, and in an instant, it lit up.  
  
The flashing pink colors soaring through the sky at the Red Eye were incredible and a bit overwhelming to her, giving her a reminder of what had happened to her not too long ago with the Centipeedle. It made her wonder what she'd be capable of in the future without the use of any of mom's old weapons, but for now, she had to feel good that she could figure out what the others couldn't.   
  
Soon, the Red Eye exploded into hundreds of pieces, none of the pieces landing anywhere important, and half the Gems made sure to push Greg's van out of the water. Sure, he didn't live there, but that was his only mode of transportation for right now.  
  
She fainted not too long after this, feeling mentally exhausted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is nice that these two episodes side-by-side carried some interesting stuff to explore when it came to how the timeline had been changed, although from here on out I might pick and choose what episodes to cover based on how interesting they might be in terms of showing Nora's differences or what would have been altered.


	3. Training Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While most of the other Gems are off doing something important, Garnet decides to give Nora some training.

"Are you sure we can just leave the rest of the Gems to go to the Sea Spire without us, Garnet? It sounded important, and Pearl really wanted me there..."

She placed a hand Nora on the shoulder and explained to her gently, "They'll be okay, we're a strong team. Plus, the main reason Pearl wanted to bring you along was to test your mission abilities. But I decided it was a lot more important that we get to the bottom of your powers and hone your skills."  
  
This piqued her interest a bit- not only did the Gems want to test her to see if she was good at solving missions, Garnet had vetoed the idea because of her display of Gem powers days prior? It was hard for her to believe all this started with some ice cream.  
  
"W-wow, Garnet, you're really cool. B-but how are you gonna be able to train me if I can't even remember what I did?"  
  
She smiled and responded confidently, "Just because your mind doesn't remember doesn't mean your body doesn't. You just need to relax your mind and have confidence in the abilities inside of you. But first, close your eyes and breathe deeply."  
  
Nodding, the child did as requested, soon finding her heart rate begin to calm as she began to slowly stop worrying about getting things done as quickly as she could. Her breathing continued at this rate for about half a minute, and when she opened her eyes, it looked like she was in a completely different place. It was nowhere she remembers being before, with the sky and the ground blending together, and all the colors being wavy and eye-catching.  
  
"W-where am I, Garnet?" she asked softly as if she thought she might disturb something by speaking too loud.  
  
Responding as calm as usual, her current mentor stated, "This is your mind-space. Without the physical world to distract you, you'll be able to focus exclusively on yourself, me, and your abilities."  
  
"S-so, does that mean my real body is like, dead? Or am I just asleep?"  
  
Chuckling, Garnet replied, "Neither, but that isn't important. I want you to tell me what you recall from that day before you poofed the Centipeedle mother."  
  
"W-well, I felt really stressed and worried I was failing. I was really confident eating the ice cream and having good feelings would work so I could pull my shield out, so when it didn't happen, I felt upset with myself. And everyone was saying I should stop and go back, but I thought if I did that you'd all get hurt, so I was really..."  
  
Noticing her beginning to shed some tears and stop herself, Garnet gave her a pat on the back and assured her, "Don't be afraid to say anything."  
  
"O-okay. Well, the last thing I remember before things got pink and I blacked out was feeling... angry, I think. Which is weird, because I don't get angry a lot, and I'm not mad at you guys."  
  
Garnet thought about this and acknowledged, "Perhaps in that stressful situation, you couldn't help but feel angry. What we need to do, then, is find a way for how to access that power while still maintaining full awareness. I think what this might take is you being able to harness your negative emotions and control them."  
  
Soon, she directed Nora to stand up and take on a fighting stance.  
  
"Are we going to fight?"  
  
With a nod, she elaborated, "It won't be anything serious since this is your first time really being trained. While we're fighting, I want you to think of what makes you feel angry or anxious, and direct those feelings into your punches. Don't be scared of hurting me."  
  
After giving a quick nod, Nora began the play-fight. She thought about those instructions and began to think of her anxiety about not being able to meet the Gems' expectations. With every punch she delivered, and each one that Garnet was able to avoid, she began to feel more upset about herself. However, Garnet's expression of empathy managed to let her stay relatively calm and do exactly as asked- direct that anger into her hits.   
  
Eventually, she began to feel a sense of hopelessness that perhaps this wasn't working, and that was when it began to happen. Her vision felt like it was going, and things began to look pink. However, she concentrated and managed to keep herself from blacking out, and then threw another punch with her now completely pink-ified fist.   
  
Garnet was sent back about ten feet, and by then, Nora felt a bit too tired to continue. Beneath her, she saw there were cracks in the ground forming, and it seemed both her and the fusion agreed it was time for rest.  
  
"I-I think that helped. I'm just scared that I could do something bad with this..."  
  
Reassuringly, Garnet told her, "We'll be here every step of the way to make sure you're able to handle this power."  
  
She smiled a bit, eager to tell the other Gems about this when she got back. And when she saw them return completely soaked, she assumed they must've had a less than stellar time, so this would work to raise their spirits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It occurred to me that with the additional Gems to the team, a lot of the missions in the early seasons could be done a lot easier, giving Nora an opportunity to take some time to train herself. Plus, it means I don't have to go beat-for-beat with each episode and can play around with what I cover. As of right now, we're still technically going in order, although I don't know how long that'll last (I am tempted to just go from Together Breakfast straight to Bubble Buddies).


	4. Delicious and Dangerous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora wants to bring all the Gems together for a special morning meal but finds that to be a difficult task.

It took plenty of work, but it certainly was worth it; with some instructions from her father on things like stacking etiquette and what does and does not belong on a pancake, she was able to create what she dubbed the perfect Together Breakfast.   
  
As she was certainly in the mood for some fun together activities, Spinel assisted in overseeing the project, giving a judgment on the taste, too! She was one of the few Gems who seemed to genuinely enjoy eating food, right up there with the likes of Amethyst, and it definitely was a delightful fact for the half-Gem child.   
  
"Do you guys think that they'll like it?" she asked with a grin. "Everybody's been so busy, I just wanna make something that can bring us all together as one big family!"  
  
Trying to let her down gently, Spinel reminded her, "Food might not be the best way to do that, given Gem biology, but I think they'll appreciate the thought of it!"  
  
"My thoughts exactly! Although even this is a bit too much sugar for me, so I'm gonna need to pass on it. I'll grab myself a bowl of oatmeal or something, but here's a breakfast hug to make up for it!" Greg proclaimed before hugging his daughter happily, causing her to blush and giggle.  
  
She hummed and sat patiently with Spinel, both giving a wave goodbye to her father who went back to his room with his breakfast. The two were eager to dig into their breakfast meal, knowing it was bound to have a lot of great flavors, but a Together Breakfast shared by only two people was not enough!  
  
Right on time, Garnet entered carrying a strange scroll with some odd writings on it. It gave Nora a strange feeling inside, but she assumed it was just her being a bit too hungry to think straight.  
  
Excitedly waving to Garnet, she questioned, "Do you wanna have some of my Together Breakfast?"  
  
"I'm sorry Nora, but I have to decline. I need to burn something," she explained, gesturing to the scroll.  
  
Fascinated, she reached to grab her phone but was stopped by Spinel, who admitted that it didn't seem wise to take a photo of it.  
  
Soon, Garnet walked off and entered the Temple, and Nora bumped into the closed door in an attempt to follow her, giving her a pain in her noggin.  
  
Sighing, she muttered, "Guess there goes Together Breakfast..."  
  
"Aww, don't give up now buddy! Don't forget, I'm a Crystal Gem too~"  
  
She would soon watch in amazement as the bouncy Gem used her heart-shaped gem to open the door, revealing her own room which they both enthusiastically entered.   
  
Spinel's room was a sight to see! It resembled the Garden that she had shown her before- the one that had long been left barren of any life, the plants having been left unwatered for thousands of years- except this one was blossoming, and had plenty of fun games to play both with friends and solo!  
  
Chuckling awkwardly, she admitted, "I kind of made this room as my way of getting over Pink- she left me all alone, fooled into standing still and waiting, but in here I'm not waiting on anyone! I'm my own Gem and I get to do what I think is best for me!"  
  
"Wow, that's really cool! ...um, is there any way to send an invitation to the Gems from here to ask them to come to eat breakfast together?"  
  
With a laugh, Spinel remarked, "We don't have a mail system here, but every room in the Temple is connected, so we can just hop to each one to tell them ourselves!"  
  
Soon, the two embarked on an adventure, going from one room to another to politely ask Gems if they'd like to eat some breakfast!   
  
Bismuth's room resembled a forge, and the heat was definitely noticeable. In there, she was forging a few weapons just a leisurely activity, but she didn't seem too bothered to see Nora and Spinel there. When she was asked about indulging in the breakfast (which the child was still carrying), she admitted she didn't see the nutritional value in it, but would be happy to indulge herself in the morning meal if it meant having some good team bonding.  
  
Next, there was Peridot's room, which resembled a laboratory she swore she had seen in a cartoon once prior. She appeared to be working on some sort of drill- something Nora vaguely recalled being told about, but never really understood too thoroughly- and at first was dismissive of the idea of stopping her research for what seemed like a pretty unimportant task. However, she couldn't help but give into Nora's sweet nature (probably something to do with that alternate reality she lived through that Nora heard so much about), and agreed to participate when she was done.  
  
Lapis's room resembled a public pool of sorts, even having a place where one could get some refreshments (showing she was not unfamiliar with eating). She gave an immediate 'yes' to the idea of eating the meal because she just thought it looked good, and she was bored. Well, that was easy.  
  
Her room poured right into Pearl's, being made up of a multitude of fountains with swords placed all around it. She was, well, certainly not as open to the idea of eating, although it seemed her main focus was on not wanting the two of them to be in her room uninvited. And so, they made their way out while trying not to get their food wet.  
  
Amethyst's room looked like an actual garbage heap, and that wasn't just an insult, as there was trash for what seemed like miles. Nora indulged her by listening to her complaints about Pearl cleaning her room without permission but was unable to properly ask about the Together Breakfast, as Amethyst seemed eager to eat it all herself. She and Spinel attempted to outrun her...  
  
...and landed themselves in the Burning Room through the chase, where Garnet was seen conducting some sort of ritual. It seemed like she had to burn the scroll and then bubble what came out. The other Gems had been following her during her escapade through the Temple, and gave her a warning that it'd be best to leave her alone to this. Nodding, Nora slowly began to back up... but nearly tripped, causing her to audibly gasp as she nearly dropped her breakfast on the ground.  
  
Garnet flinched, caught off-guard by the sound, and the ritual was interrupted. The smoke that emerged from it was even more unnerving to Nora than the actual scroll, and she scrambled to grab her meal and get out. However, that was not a successful attempt. Spotting her as being an organic being capable of containing it, the monster moved toward her at great speed. Her vision became black and she felt an even greater heat overcome her...  
  
When she opened her eyes, she suddenly felt cold, she was surrounded by darkness. Where was she? Was this a dream, or a nightmare? What was happening, and did it have anything to do with her breakfast?  
  
Whispers began to fill her head, angry and bitter voices speaking in a language she couldn't understand, but the emotions were still there.   
  
It soon occurred to Nora that this wasn't really her body. Sure, it felt like she was moving and walking, but this was close to what it was like being in the mindscape Garnet told her about. The thing is, though, that she didn't want to go here this time. Her body was being used.  
  
"P-please, s-stop...!" she pleaded, trying to gain control, or at least see what her body was doing.  
  
She began to hear what sounded like distant voices, more decipherable. They were concerned and scared- and she couldn't tell if it was for or of her. Urgently, she began to run toward the voices, and it sounded like they were growing closer.   
  
Pink flashes appeared in the dark landscape she ran endlessly in, and she realized she was becoming pink. However, she was feeling less worried about the powers that she was granted in this state.  
  
In a loud, commanding voice, Nora ordered, "G-Get out of my body, you're not welcome!!"  
  
She collapsed to the ground, able to see through her peripheral vision the others picking up the Breakfast and tossing it into the lava, and she could gather on her own what happened. The Smoke Monster was expelled from her body and fled to the breakfast, and that gave them the opportunity to use it.  
  
"D-Did I...?"  
  
Picking her up with tears in her eyes, Pearl assured her, "You didn't hurt us. We were more scared of hurting you while you were in that state."  
  
"I-I don't think Together Breakfast was meant to be... it feels like I got us in danger by bringing us all together."  
  
Shaking her head, Garnet told her, "This was a very specific circumstance, don't let that ruin togetherness for you. Now, I think we need to make up for our lost breakfast."  
  
Soon, all of them were in the kitchen, working together to make a special Together Breakfast! Everyone got themselves a big bite, even those who would normally choose not to eat. It certainly was a nice way to end this morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourselves, I'm definitely gonna jump around a whole lot from this point forward.
> 
> And when I read on the wiki that the smoke monster was able to possess basically organic matter, I knew what I needed to do to inject some angst into an otherwise goofy plot. And the fact that the scroll itself is written with ground-up gems turned into ink, it gives a dark indication of what that smoke monster is that I felt like exploring. Next chapter, you-know-who is gonna make her debut!


	5. The Meet Cute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora meets someone very important to her future.

The next two days didn’t see much action for Nora, as she took a more cautious approach because of what she had experienced the day she attempted to serve breakfast for all the Gems. Being temporarily possessed by an inexplicably terrifying Gem monster certainly had a bad effect on her, and though she knew it was a rare occurrence, it still left her paranoid of further big Gem escapades. For a period of time, she stuck to just solving small-scale problems- like giving the youngest of the Frymans the motivation to open up to his dad about his issues.  
  
However, things changed in her eyes when she found out that someone who was quite special in her eyes was currently on the sandy shores of Beach City. Urgently, she rushed to the fridge and felt relieved when she found out that the bracelet she kept in there was still there- a small part of her was worried Amethyst would’ve eaten it at some point confusing it for an onion ring. After that, she began to get herself the right outfit so she could look her best. That outfit consisted of a bicycle helmet, a cleaner outfit than normal (even brushing her hair instead of just letting it go wild), and the best make-up she could manage.  
  
She carried her bike with her down the stairs, overhearing a conversation some of the Gems were having about tremors and thus didn't notice them noticing her appearance. That allowed her to put all her attention on the brown-skinned girl who was reading by the cliffside.  
  
After running through the plan in her head once more- ride her bike over, hop off, and say something flirty/nice/whatever- she got onto the bike and... promptly fell off of it immediately following some great effort to pedal, prompting her to run back to the Gems to escape the other child's view.  
  
"N-Nora, are you alright?" Pearl gasped with concern.  
  
She gave a nod, despite the fact that she had a bruise on one of her knees now, which did not go unnoticed.  
  
Her especially motherly guardian sighed and got a bit lower to tend to her minor injury, giving her a bit of embarrassment, as she commented, "I don't know what would inspire you to try riding your bike when you haven't gotten on that thing since Greg bought it..."  
  
"Heh, I think I have an idea," Amethyst remarked before leaning over to whisper into Pearl's ear.  
  
Immediately, she stood up and beamed as she gushed, "Oh my gosh, you have a crush?? This is just great! Maybe we can invite her over for a playdate?"  
  
"U-um, w-well, maybe later, but I kind of wanted to introduce myself to her in my own cool way."  
  
  
Bismuth smiled and gave her a wink as she urged her, "Go ahead and be cool, then, you got this!"  
  
"And if you need us, we'll be somewhere else doing some other stuff!" Amethyst told her as they headed off to take care of some Gem business.  
  
Smiling, she removed her helmet and began to walk over while whispering to herself what she was going to say when she introduced herself to the other girl. She observed that the bookworm hadn't been especially fazed by her fumble on the bike since she was still into her novel. (Of course, paranoically, Nora considered the idea that she was just trying to pretend she never saw her.)  
  
Finally working up the courage to speak up now that she was within her line of sight, Nora raised a hand and greeted, "H-Hello, I'd like to get to know you!"  
  
The girl, looking slightly caught off guard but not put off, looked up from her book and was about to say something in response. However, the ground began to shake, and their attempt at a conversation was cut short as a large piece of the cliff broke off and began to plummet toward the resting girl.  
  
Gasping, Nora rushed over urgently, feeling the urge to save her immediately! Emotion flooded her body, everything from anger at fate for causing this disaster to strike at this moment to... some positive emotions about other things. She had no idea how she could possibly make a difference when it came to this piece of the cliffside, but had no urge to just let things pass without any effort.  
  
She almost didn't register any surprise when she turned a bright pink color, and she saw and felt something shoot from her palms, coat the large rock fragment with the hue, and then seemingly cause it to explode in a way that all the pieces flew in safe directions and didn't leave a scratch on the one she was trying to save. This time, she didn't collapse due to her use of this strange ability, but she did feel a little tired.  
  
The girl sitting there looked ready to faint herself, though, breathing heavily and looking quite distraught by the events that just unfolded. 

"U-Um, it's okay, don't worry! I-I came over here to introduce myself to you, b-but I don't think this is the safest place to do it, so..."  
  
Finally catching her breath, the bespectacled child responded, "W-we could go inside, maybe."  
  
A minute later, they were sat on the couch in Nora's home, and it seemed like she had to take a few seconds to make sure that she was still perfectly safe despite all evidence indicating she was.  
  
"My name is Nora, by the way."  
  
Giving a nervous smile, she responded, "I'm Connie. A-and uh, thanks for saving me."  
  
"Y-you don't need to thank me! Honestly, I feel bad for scaring you, I was mainly trying to push you out of the way, or like, form a magical barrier. My powers are hard to understand right now, though..."  
  
Smiling a bit wider, Connie proclaimed, "S-so that _was_ magic! I was worried I was hallucinating, or it was some mind trick, but this so much better! I-I don't want to try, but I have so many questions!"  
  
Before she could respond, Nora saw the Gems- minus Peridot and Lapis, who she was aware were both spending some extra time on making sure they had all the wrinkles smoothed out with the drill they were building- emerge from the front door looking a bit worn out from their most recent mission. However, Pearl cut her ranting on their peril short when she saw the delightful sight of Nora on the couch with the girl she had been interested in talking to before.  
  
"Soo, Nora, you wanna introduce us?"  
  
Her face was no longer pink like before but just a deep red, especially since she knew Connie probably had the same question (given that there were currently five women standing in the doorway looking at her excitedly). Boy, this was certainly a different kind of day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you were all excited for this and so was I~ Given that I was on a roll with the "Nora gains PD powers before the Rose powers" idea, I knew this episode would go down slightly differently.
> 
> By the way, I heard some people wanted some chapters of this to follow other characters' POVs, and I am considering doing just that, I just need to consider who to do first.


	6. First New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie is beyond delighted to finally make a friend, and even moreso that they're magic (and really cute.)

Connie found herself struggling to make friends no matter where she lived. She was a naturally introverted kid, usually having to rely on the idea that someone else might introduce themselves to her. It often seemed, though, that kids were less likely to talk to her because of the fact that she was always preoccupied with reading something due to it making it look as if she had no time for conversation. It was sort of a paradox of sorts, she supposed, one that she came to believe could never be defied. That was until she happened to meet Nora.  
  
When she saw her try and fail to ride her bike, she could only guess she was trying to impress her and simply got too nervous to think straight. It was something she could relate to quite a bit, which made her admire that Nora would have the guts to try in the first place. Plus, she already began to find her to be a bit cute, though she was too nervous to really say think too much about that. After all, what were the chances she'd also like girls like that? It felt safer to just assume she was only coming around to become her friend and nothing more than that.   
  
She buried her face into her book again upon her running off because she was worried about looking like she was staring, or judging the other child; she wasn't a naturally judgemental person and didn't want to do anything to betray that idea. Plus, she also worried that it might be made obvious from her looking at her that she found her cute, and she didn't want to have any risk of embarrassment and rejection.  
  
However, what followed was not at all what she expected. Firstly, she was made excited by seeing the girl return and greet her verbally, always happy when someone talks to her. Then, the ground shook and she froze in a panic as she saw a piece of the cliff begin to fall toward her at a dangerous speed. She feared this might be how she dies, in a cruel twist of irony- seconds away from actually making a friend. Luckily, she just so happened to be making friends with someone with incredible powers, and thus, her life was saved in an instant.  
  
Soon enough, Connie Maheswaran was sitting on Nora's couch, and the two became properly acquainted with each other. It didn't take long after that for her guardians to arrive, and it was quite intriguing to her to learn about and take note of every little thing they detailed when it came to Gems and what they were.   
  
At one point, she caught a glance at Nora's shorts- no reason in particular, just finding them cute- and noticed something sticking out of her pocket, causing her to question, "What's that you have there?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh wait, I forgot, that's your bracelet I found!" she exclaimed excitedly, taking out and revealing it in all its glory, still glowing as it did a year ago. "Eheheh, I-I didn't just steal it or anything, you dropped it and I was gonna grab it and give it back to you but I have trouble finding you so-"  
  
Connie silenced her by putting her hand on her shoulder and assuring her, "I know. Thanks, that's really sweet. You can keep it, though, I don't know if it would go with my outfit anymore."  
  
"A-ah, w-well, okay!" Nora chuckled, and Connie took a mental note of how she blushed.  
  
With a shy smile, she questioned, "S-so, if you're not busy right now, perhaps we could do that uh, 'play date' I overheard about?"  
  
"Oh gosh, you heard that...? U-um, sure, we can do that! W-what would do, though?"  
  
Thinking for a moment, Connie suggested, "Video games and snacks, for starters. Next time I come over I can probably bring some extra books for both of us."  
  
"Oh, that sounds- o-oh, next time?" Nora stuttered, blushing more.  
  
It was not hard to notice that this girl was quite odd. She blushed quite a bit when she didn't intend for her to blush, she had magical powers unexplainable by science, and she tried riding a bike with sandals and on a beach. Still, she definitely wanted to spend some more time with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can't tell, I'm already very much shipping Nora and Connie. How can you not, really? BTW, hope you all enjoy some non-Nora POV~
> 
> Throw some suggestions for episodes I could cover of Season 1 and how you think they might go!


	7. Beagle Billionaire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora is interested in Amethyst's wrestling career and wants to join in! She might be missing something, though...

Nora had been eager to join in on one of the Gems's missions, stating she felt like she was ready to act as part of the team! Of course, it isn't like she was the reason the mission ended up going south- there was a laundry list of reasons for that. The details of it weren't important, just that the mission ended with Pearl arguing with Amethyst and Nora covered in a thick blood polyp that Peridot and Bismuth got to work chipping her out of before she got stuck there all night.  
  
Later that night, she got out of bed to grab herself a late-night snack (having a bit of an appetite that was hard to satiate) and caught a glimpse of Amethyst heading out of the house. This quite intrigued her, and she began to sneaking behind in a stealthy manner, wondering why Amethyst would possibly leave in such a hurry.  
  
She followed Amethyst somewhere she's definitely never been before, and in fact, she wasn't sure if any of the Gems have ever mentioned being here before. It seemed to be some sort of underground wrestling arena, so she had to assume she just enjoyed watching wrestling and was embarrassed to tell everyone else. Well, she'd be happy to go in there and tell her that she should be proud of her interests!  
  
When she entered the building, though, she'd be a bit caught off-guard to see that she wasn't in the audience. (If she was, it'd be very easy to see her.) No, Amethyst was up on the stage fighting! And not the usual kind where there's explosions and people yell at her afterward for reasons beyond Nora's understanding- this is fighting that looks way less violent but everyone seems far more enthusiastic watching! And Amethyst was absolutely crushing it under the name _The Purple Puma!_ She thought she was cool before, but she definitely felt quite a bit more appreciative of what she was able to do now!  
  
The moment she stepped out of the ring, Nora rushed over to give Amethyst a hug to show her congratulations- only for the Gem (currently high on the fumes of fame and victory) to reflexively flip her into the air. She braced herself to land on the ground with a thud, perhaps accompanied by a cartoonish sound effect...  
  
...only to land in some familiar stretchy arms.  
  
"S-Spinel?!" Both Amethyst and Nora gasped out loud, at the same time.  
  
Chuckling, she responded as she placed the child on her feet, "Yep, I'm me!"  
  
"I thought you were asleep in your room!"  
  
Smiling with amusement at Nora's comment, Spinel informed her, "Oh, Gems don't need sleep, silly! And normally I _would_ be in my room, but since I didn't go on today's mission, I kinda just hid myself in your room, and I basically followed you all the way here."  
  
"Nice goin', Nora! Now everybody's gonna know about my secret pastime and it'll be ruined for me! I can barely get any slack from Pearl and Garnet, but here I can be as crazy I want and I get praise for it!"   
  
Confused, Spinel questioned, "How would everyone find out, though? It isn't like people usually go to _me_ for information, and it's not like I'm known for gossip."  
  
"...Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Okay, I guess you guys can stay."  
  
Misinterpreting this sentence, the youngest of the trio gasped, "S-so you're saying we can be wrestlers too?!"  
  
"Oh yeah, count me in!" Spinel proclaimed with peppiness.  
  
Clearly, Amethyst didn't see a lot of ways to talk them out of this- at least, nothing that would be easy- but decided that since both equally wanted to wrestle, and they were both equally silly, they could totally work as a tag-team wrestling duo! And once she told them that idea, they seemed pretty psyched!  
  
After five minutes in the back digging through a box of old costumes, the two had picked their new identities! Spinel put on a sailor's outfit and dubbed herself Tugboat Terry, a true powerhouse of animated attacks! Meanwhile, Nora went by the striking name of Beagle Billionaire, having found a dog costume and some fake money in a briefcase that seemed to work well together in her mind! She may be the one percent (whatever that means), but she was gonna give _one hundred_ and one percent in the ring!  
  
Initially, it was the plan of Amethyst's to simply let them get tired and realize they weren't cut out for wrestling and then head back home and leave her to her hobby. However, she found that they were able to make their way to the top by combining their natural talent for entertainment and their raw strength; even Nora with her limited amount of training could wipe the floor with the costumed humans! ...of course, they held back a little knowing that these _were_ just costumed humans, but they were still quite impressive.  
  
Soon enough, Tugboat Terry and Beagle Billionaire had become fan-favorites, some people arguing over which one of them was coolest/cutest, and others simply adoring them blindly! A rivalry between the fans of Purple Puma (the original star of the underground scene) and these newcomers began to break out, which the wrestlers themselves were not ignorant toward. While they had no ill will toward each other, obviously, this did seem like a great opportunity to bring the fans together with one big match! Nora was so excited about this idea, getting to have a bit of training in up-close combat while also entertaining people, that she got the help of Spinel to produce a bunch of posters advertising it!  
  
The night of the event came, with the duo and their rival fully prepared to duke it out in a no-holds-barred duel! Two-on-one may seem unfair to the average chum, but everyone knew that the Purple Puma was high enough in wrestling skill to make this kind of battle seem totally even! They soon stood in the ring, prepared for an epic match... and then door swung open, revealing familiar faces.  
  
Pearl and Garnet stood in the front, looking rather unhappy.  
  
Peridot and Lapis stood nearby, seeming confused about why they were even there.  
  
And Bismuth was to the left, looking pumped by what she was seeing and having no idea what the problem was! Of course, she didn't want to get in Garnet or Pearl's way, so she'd just lean back and wait it out.  
  
"Amethyst, what is the meaning of this? And bringing them into it too?? This is so irresponsible!"  
  
The two soon entered the ring themselves, leaving the audience quite puzzled, as Garnet ordered her in a soft but firm voice, "Come back to the Temple with us now, so we can discuss this privately."  
  
"No way, square! You're not ruining my fun!" she exclaimed, and in retaliation, she launched an attack against her!  
  
It almost looked like it was going to devolve into full-on friendly fire, and Nora knew she had to do something about it. Spinel felt like she should probably do something too, but was pretty lost on what, which is why it helped that Nora was there to interrupt the battle!   
  
In a touching monologue, Nora (in-character as the Billionaire Beagle, of course) detailed how Purple Puma rose from the ashes of her jungle home and worked her way to stardom through sheer determination, finding wrestling as being the thing that gave her the confidence and strength to fight on despite the anxiety and doubt that tries to beat her down!   
  
Now, Pearl and Garnet felt a better understanding when it came to why Amethyst wrestled. Everyone else who came was also moved, but they were already pretty cool with it, so it didn't have as big of an impact.   
  
To save face for the fact that the entered the ring without any permission, Pearl and Garnet soon took on the ironic roles of members of the Down With Wrestling Gang, who were here to pry wrestling out of the hands of the wrestle-loving innocents! Amethyst would soon utterly demolish them... in a play-fight, of course, knowing they were going along with the fun of the sport. The incident only boosted the support and love given toward both The Purple Puma and the duo originally intended to fight against her, and the next time Nora went to the Big Donut, she would need to endure a lot of gushing from Sadie about how much she adores Beagle Billionaire. (Lars seemed to lean more toward Tugboat Terry, which Spinel was very proud of.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the choice to change from Tiger Millionaire to Beagle Billionaire wasn't too silly, figured it'd be a funny slight alteration and a good way to keep the pattern of having slightly different titles to the original. Skipped over Serious Steven with the excuse of "More Gems means less urgency to bring Nora along," and I think this episode would have more interesting things to see anyhow.
> 
> Also, hopefully it is enjoyed how I made Spinel apart of this chapter! Next up is the explanation for the brief absence of a very loveable character~


	8. Wondering Where the Lion Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A feline companion makes its way into the front of Nora's mind, and she wonders why she has hardly seen it before.

Nora liked to try and keep herself focused on what was really important. After all, a Crystal Gem shouldn't let trivial matters take up their attention when there are urgent matters to be dealt with in the present! This, of course, ignores the goofy antics many of the CGs engage in on a regular basis, because she took her view of what a Crystal Gem is supposed to do from the words of Pearl. Still, although she thought about this mentality plenty, it was increasingly difficult for her to ignore certain realities. One of these things getting increasingly less ignorable was an animal that she occasionally saw roaming around Beach City.  
  
From the corner of her eye, she had always been able to catch a glimpse of the large creature at any given moment. The fact that nobody was panicking or that the Gems weren’t doing anything about the lion indicated that it was accepted as a normal thing, so it made Nora wonder why she had never really gotten to know them. She even had been able to observe they were pink- _pink!_ A combination of her favorite color and her favorite type of animal shouldn’t be so hard to get close, especially if they seemed so docile!  
  
Eventually, she decided enough was enough, and when Pearl looked like she wasn’t especially busy, she went over and tapped on her leg to get her attention.  
  
“Hmm? Oh, Nora, it’s you. Do you need something?”  
  
Smiling at the affirmative response, she nodded and questioned, “Do you know anything about that Lion I keep seeing around?”  
  
“Oh, yes, I believe that was your mother’s Lion. When we got Bismuth from the desert-”  
  
Gasping, she interrupted, “Bismuth lived in the desert?! You guys need to fill me in on this stuff, this is really cool!”  
  
“Eheheh, it’s not nearly as cool as it sounds,” Pearl chuckled, and she might as well be tugging on her shirt collar right now and letting steam pour out. “Anyway, when that happened, Lion came along with her. However, we stopped seeing him as much when you were, well…”  
  
Already guessing the answer, Nora grew sullen and sighed, “I get it, Lion misses mom and doesn’t wanna be reminded of her by hangin’ around with me. I just wish he would give me a chance, y’know?”  
  
“I-I understand how you must feel, Nora, but it won’t do any good just waiting for him to give you attention. Perhaps you need to come to him! Oh, that reminds me- we actually have a mission to the desert we were holding off for a while, perhaps you can try and convince him to come along!”  
  
Swiftly made excited by this idea, she rushed off to find her potential feline companion, shouting a quick “Thanks Pearl” before she was out the door! She made sure to also slow down her descent down the stairs when she heard the Gem in question shout after her to be careful, but she continued her previous speed the moment her feet touched the ground.  
  
It was certainly not a difficult task finding a pink-colored lion in a town as small as Beach City. Indeed, after a few minutes of searching, she discovered him lounging around in the park, swatting at butterflies and generally acting like a giant cat.  
  
Slowly stepping closer to him, Nora greeted, “Hey buddy, my name is Nora! Do you know me?”  


He looked over toward her with an expression of confusion, taking a second to understand who this person was that seemed so eager to meet him. Then, upon connecting the dots, he approached her.    
  
With slight nervousness but a bit of excitement, she reached to place her palm on his nose as a sign that she was kind and gentle.    
  
In response, Lion suddenly rubbed his face against hers, and she would enjoy the softness of his large pink mane.   
  
“Oh wow, you’re so cute! Maybe you weren’t avoiding me, maybe you were just shy! Whatever it was, we’re friends now, right?”   
  
She took his silence as being a sign of agreement, and then decided to test something out that seemed like it would be an excellent idea.   
  
Tapping her foot, Lapis questioned, “When can we expect Nora to be back from her uh, Lion thing?”   
  
“It shouldn’t be too long, he never gets too far from here and she’s pretty good at finding things,” Garnet responded affirmatively.   
  
Bismuth scratched her head and questioned, “Do we need to bring that cat along with us? Not that I have anything against non-Gem companions, but I kinda figured that with our numbers, this’d be a piece of cake!”   
  
“It’s not just about bringing a lion with us, this is about showing that Nora is ready to be serious and take initiative when it comes to missions! She’s not just part-Gem, but part- _ Diamond!  _ And I know we don’t like to think about it, but if Nora is able to master these abilities of hers-”   
  
Before Pearl could begin her excited mantra, they heard a loud sound on the porch, and they’d open the door to see that the child Crystal Gem herself had landed Lion there, who seemed perfectly complacent in this situation.

  
Everybody could see the love and excitement in the spear-wielding Gem’s eyes as Nora was cheering through the air on the back of a graceful feline steed in the hot desert sun. Of course, when she asked Lion to take her back to the ground and he opened up a portal to instantly get down, she seemed rather frazzled. Despite that, it shifted swiftly to wonder at this incredible power held by this innocuous creature.   
  
Upon returning home from the mission, Nora felt as if she made a new friend, and the Gems couldn’t help but feel excited by the development of a new skill for their young Gem-in-training. Now they'd just need to work out where Lion would sleep, since he appeared to make himself a regular guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found an obscure song title that I could make a good pun with so I could give this chapter a funny title!  
> Oh, and I hope you guys think Lion's re-debut in my very specific AU is good! You decide: do I go to Arcade Mania next and have a look at some low-key Gem antics, perhaps pair the Gems up with creatively chosen arcade games (giving me a chance to have Mr. Smiley appear for the first time), or should I skip right to Giant Woman and see our first on-screen... or, in-text fusing?


	9. Eight Bits of Badness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gems go to the Arcade with Nora to celebrate a great mission, and some Gems get a bit sucked into the gameplay.

Walking carefully along the ledge of an underground cave, the Crystal Gems were silent and alert in search of the _Gem Driller._ It was a Gem Creature that had been causing quite a bit of havoc, making loud noises and causing the occasional unpleasant tremor. All the Gems were gathered with the unified mission to stop and poof it, even if they technically would only need three out of the eight of them. It just felt like it was nice to have the whole group working together, with Nora even being there to round things out.  
  
"So, why _is_ the Driller so bad? It feels like we're going into its home and beating it up just because we can..."  
  
Responding in a hushed tone, Pearl reminded Nora, "It may be underground now, but we can't be sure that it won't attack the surface at any moment! It's only best we poof it before it can do any harm!"  
  
"And what do we do _after_ that? I've been on quite a few of these missions so it's weird that I don't yet know what you guys do with- _w-woah!"  
_

Before Nora could continue her line of questioning, her foot slipped and she felt the ground give out beneath her. She closed her eyes in fear whilst she began to plummet off the edge.  
  
Luckily, though, a Crystal Gem was there to save her- Garnet! It seemed she was always there at the right time even when doom seemed imminent for the young team member. This always was a source of curiosity for her, but she usually just passed it off as a sign of being very smart.  
  
A gasp escaped Nora's lips upon opening her eyes and seeing that the Gem Driller, otherwise just known as the Gem Cave Creature (or simply _that thing_ for simplicity's sake), was already attacking! Quickly, the rest of the Gems got into a position to engage it in an intense brawl with Garnet leading! Spears were swung, whips were twirled, Spinel did whatever she did with those crazy limbs of hers, and soon they were able to overpower the ferocious being. Garnet landed the finishing blow, thus leaving it as only its core.

This brought great excitement to Nora, who asked, "C-can I try to do the thing??"  
  
"It's called bubbling, and you will need to train to do that first," Garnet responded before casually bubbling the core of the Driller and sending it away.  
  
That was not satisfying to her, but her attention swiftly was turned to the sound of drilling, and her eyes brought her to the sight of some strange creatures burrowing into the ground.  
  
With excitement, Nora asked eagerly, "D-do you guys know what those are?!"  
  
"It doesn't matter, they're getting away!"   
  
Bismuth placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder and reminded her playfully, "Hey, we don't wanna go stifling our little Crystal Gem's curiosity, do we? But yeah, they escaped. Dang."  
  
"Guess that sucks, but hey, mission accomplished, right?"   
  
Agreeing with Amethyst wholeheartedly, Nora asked with a smile, "Could we do something together to celebrate?"  
  
"I don't know if that was extravagant enough to warrant a celebration- we didn't even stop the parasites," Peridot lamented, gesturing to the holes left by burrowing creatures.  
  
This gave Nora some thought- perhaps a low-key celebration would be in order?   
  
So, she asked them to close their eyes, and they obliged and were lead carefully to a very specific location. When they opened, they all looked upon where their victory would be celebrated- the Funland Arcade!  
  
Most of the Gems appeared unimpressed, but Spinel beamed and exclaimed, "Oh wow, the Arcade, huh? I remember when this place was built, I can't believe it's still up!"  
  
"W-wait, really? How old are you guys exactly?"  
  
They all answered at once, and though it was a lot of numbers to take in, she definitely knew they were larger than even her dad's age. She'd want to do something to make up for this missed detail later, but for now, she'd be celebrating their present victory!  
  
Questioningly, Pearl asked, "How are we gonna pay for all of us?"

"Let's just say I make some good money playing the keyboard on the street," Nora responded, opening her coat to reveal all of her quarters.  
  
Now none of them had any reason to opt-out of this leisurely bonding activity, and really, it seemed like a fine way to ease their minds after all the stressful missions they've had to go on. Entering the Funland Arcade, they'd quickly be greeted by the founder of the arcade and the amusement park accompanying it- Nora knew him fairly well as a pretty jovial fellow, always smiling and saying perky things like "have a nice day" and "come back anytime" while most of the Gems had known him long enough to view him as a strange and unsettling person. None of them could recall a time where he was either not smiling or appearing sincerely happy. This was a discussion none of them really wanted to have any time soon, though- if Harold Smiley had anything going on with him, he could work it out when he was ready, and he certainly wouldn't be looking toward the Crystal Gems as potential therapists. Right now, they'd be giving him some of Nora's cash in order to keep his lights on a bit longer.  
  
One by one, the child introduced her Gem guardians to different games that she thought they might all enjoy. If she was being graded in a school setting, she'd flunk out of the "Video Game Assignment" class, but would definitely earn points for enthusiasm.  
  
Firstly, she demonstrated the wonders of racing to Pearl with the hit 80's classic _Teens of Rage._ At first, she seemed quite eager to partake in a game that could simulate an act with such fun rules, but soon grew frustrated by the game's blatant encouragement of dangerous practices. It wasn't long before she walked away from it in a rage... although her form of rage is still plenty calm, with her giving a polite explanation for why it didn't capture her interest.  
  
After that, she brought Amethyst over to Ski-Ball, with the goal of throwing balls into evenly placed holes to win a certain number of tickets, which can then be exchanged for prizes only really valuable to those who get easily attached to temporary physical possessions. Thus, Amethyst seemed plenty on-board and was eager to win. That was a win for Nora, although she certainly didn't approve of her enjoyment of straight-up cheating.  
  
Then came Peridot, who seemed more interested in the technology itself than the gameplay they could produce. It was only natural, therefore, that the non-functional game at the far end of the room got her curiosity. She was unsure whether to count that as a win, but hey, she was still being entertained. Plus, Mr. Smiley seemed quite happy to get some extra help (especially since he didn't need to pay anything).  
  
Spinel was not particularly hard to entertain, really, but Nora still wanted to pair her with a game that she'd genuinely love. In a matter of time, the bouncy Gem had her feet flying during _Jazz Jazz Evolution,_ in which one has to match their pediatric movements with the shapes going down the screen. Not only did Spinel love dancing, but she loved music, so this was perfect for her!  
  
Following that easy win, Nora felt a boost in confidence and thus concluded she'd find Lapis's perfect game no problem. Having seen her have quite a knack for flying in the past, she decided to hook her up with _Aviator Simulation 92414!_ Soar through the air at the speed of light, fire a stream of bullets at opponents, and look out for obstacles! ...sadly, the game was not nearly as exciting as it sounded, but it did give Lapis inspiration to go fly some laps around town to remind herself how fun the real thing was. Not really a win, but she still felt good about it.  
  
Coming second to last (but not in her heart, as she loved all her Gem family equal), Bismuth seemed like she'd be tough to find the perfect game. And, well, that wasn't far off. However, she was able to find her something to enjoy- a puzzle-solving one titled _Click the Clack!_ Nora personally had no idea how it worked, but Bismuth caught on quickly and was grooving with it swimmingly, and the music certainly helped.   
  
Last in the list to find the perfect game was Garnet, and her main issue was not knowing that she wasn't supposed to straight-up smash the games (making it nice that Peridot was close behind). However, when she was given a rhythm game titled _Beat Meat Mania_ to play, she certainly seemed to enjoy it fairly fast. Nora had no idea why- wouldn't this be far below her usual level, since she was already so smart? Regardless, she was completely entranced by the game to the point that she couldn't get her to notice when she was saying her name.  
  
Nora and most of the Gems would leave the Arcade in a better mood than they entered, as Mr. Smiley thanked Peridot for fixing all the games that had been broken, and stated he'd let the cheating going on from Amethyst go unnoticed for today. Peridot, Spinel, and Garnet stayed behind- the latter two getting too engrossed in gaming, and the former simply wanting to spruce up his tech. Bismuth was more on the woodwork and blacksmithing side, and she deduced he didn't need any help in the building's structure, so she'd be off along with Amethyst, Pearl, Lapis, and Nora. What a wonderful time!   
  
The next morning, Nora would be doing her usual routine- using her dad's metal detector (which he used to use to find pieces of jewelry to add to his rockstar outfit) to find quarters in order to play more arcade games and to also simply use as currency to get other Boardwalk products. However, her search was interrupted by the sudden attack from those parasites that she remembered escaping before. She realized the Gems had been right- these things did have the spirit for causing senseless havoc, and even if they look cute, she can't just let them do as they please!  
  
Not yet mastering her abilities in heat-of-the-moment combat situations, she found herself overwhelmed and called for help. Before too much time passed, the majority of the Crystal Gems arrived in order to give their assistance! Sure, it was only four out of the usual seven others that would be exchanging blows with their enemies, but how much of a difference would that make?  
  
A lot, apparently. Even with her lack of experience in combat, Nora could tell they weren't as focused and organized as they should be. What could be missing here...?  
  
 _"Garnet!"  
  
_ Smiling at Amethyst's suggestion, she replied, "Oh, thanks, I knew I was forgetting something!"  
  
"No, that's not what I mean- I just noticed that Garnet was drawing like, a _huge_ crowd over there. That's the most people I've seen in the Arcade at once since the eighties!"  
  
While the rest of the Gems tried to use their strengths to hold off the parasites, Nora rushed off and pushed her way through the crowd of people (apologizing to a small mute child and several cool teens along the way) in order to get to the leader of the team. When she got there, she'd be surprised to see Peridot and Spinel were also there and were watching Garnet's activities with intrigue and a bit of concern.  
  
Tilting her head in confusion, Nora questioned, "What are you guys doing?"  
  
"Well, when we got done with our engagements, we grew fascinated by Garnet's precise movements and decided to take a closer look! By the time we realized how she was essentially trapped in this cycle of matching these programmed patterns, this crowd already formed, and we feel inadequate in being able to get push through- me because I don't have much in physicality, and Spinel because she'd probably break someone's bones."  
  
Thinking about this, it made the child realize she'd need to get Garnet to stop playing the game in order to get the whole team together to play! Not listening to the crowd who seemed to be absolutely loving this, she moved to try and block her vision. However, she strangely found that this wasn't doing anything to prevent her gameplay. Then she made a hopeful guess that perhaps the removal of her shades would make it harder for her to see and thus decrease her focus, so she quickly tugged those off... only to discover the square-haired Gem's third eye, which was seemingly being used to assist in keeping track of the meat-related beats.  
  
Growing frustrated, she rushed over to the wall where the game was plugged in and ordered whilst clutching the plug, "Pause the game, or you'll lose all your progress right now!"  
  
Not seeing a reaction from the player, Nora swiftly unplugged it... only for Garnet to use some sort of electrokinesis to charge the game herself, allowing her to continue playing where she left off.   
  
"Aw, shoot, that didn't work!" Spinel remarked. "Hmm, I guess we'll just have to- uhh, Nora, are you okay...?"  
  
Nora looked madder than Spinel has ever seen her- although it felt completely justified to the young Crystal Gem. Garnet was usually so nice and smart, why was she ignoring an important mission for something as silly as a video game? She cared about her and everyone else, right??   
  
It was Garnet who trained Nora in focusing her emotions- even her negative ones- to get positive results for both her and everyone she cared about. As she turned pink, and even with the burning rage she felt at the moment, she certainly did feel a lot of gratitude that the wise Gem was able to get her to this point.  
  
 ** _KERSHACHKKKK  
  
_** The arcade game was soon punched right in half, and immediately, Peridot knew she was not going to be able to repair that no matter how hard she tried. Nora's pink hue faded at the same time that Garnet snapped out of her haze. While for a split second, she appeared concerned about this display of power, she quickly shifted to being impressed.  
  
The mission did not take long to get done from there, although Nora, unfortunately, was unable to participate- Mr. Smiley witnessed her smash that console in half, and though he appeared intimidated by that demonstration of strength, he made a point to say that superhuman customers were not exempt from store policy. Thus, she gave whispered cheers from the sidelines while she began to work off the price of the game. At nine dollars an hour, and the game costing over a thousand, she'd definitely have to produce a lot of elbow grease to make up for her damages. Still, she was happy that her abilities were able to score the Gems a win! (Plus, ol' Harold wasn't as mad as he could've been.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and you better be looking forward to the debut of Opal next chapter (as I'm going straight into that)! Let me know what episodes you're particularly excited to see me do! Oh, and by the way- any suggestions for what I can do to recapture the exciting mid-season finale of Mirror/Ocean Gem, now that Lapis is already a main member of the CGs? I've had several ideas for what I can do, but I wanna hear some suggestions~ (And feel free to give general suggestions for plots I could do going forward, given the new dynamics.)


	10. No Earrings Required!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora learns of the concept of fusion, and grows interested in seeing it happen before her very eyes. It's unfortunate that the specific Gems involved don't have as strong of an interest.

The beach was a fun place to do a lot of warm, sandy, and wet activities which could definitely double as some excellent exercise. However, one might be surprised to see that the main attraction at this particular beach wasn't volleyball or surfing, but chess. Most of the Crystal Gems, and plenty of humans, watched whilst thoroughly entertained as Pearl and Amethyst competed in the most heated game of chess there was- helped by the fact that it was a particularly warm day outside. The rules of the game were simple: if your opponent makes a good play, you get a water balloon thrown at you from above by the referee, Nora Universe (dressed to impress, referee-wise).   
  
It was the most intense battle you could get when the fighting move consisted of moving tiny pieces across a checkerboard, but intense nonetheless, and eventually a winner became clear- Pearl, having claimed Amethyst's monarchs and therefore become victorious! She indulged herself in the cheers of everybody watching but soon grew a tad irritated when her opponent managed to reclaim the attention by welcoming a shower of water balloons.  
  
"Man, losing feels good...~"  
  
As the crowd dissipated, leaving just most of the other Gems, Pearl sighed and remarked whilst standing up, "That certainly isn't any attitude to carry into battle."  
  
"Geez, lighten up, will ya? And you wonder why we don't form Opal."  
  
She had been about to leave, but swiftly she turned back to give her rebuttal: "I do _not_ wonder, that has been perfectly clear! You're impossible to work with to even get to the point of forming Opal, and you can hardly listen to a word I say!"  
  
"Oh, you expect _me_ to listen to you when you're so-"  
  
Before things got out of hand, which they were already on the brink of already, Nora rushed in so she could push the two apart.  
  
Once she had their attention, Nora asked with curiosity, "What, or who is Opal?"  
  
Amethyst gave the question some thought and soon thought of an answer she thought to be quite suitable.  
  
"It's me and Pearl mashed together, duh."  
  
Sighing, the taller of the two corrected, "That would be _Pearl and me,_ and that explanation does not do it justice. Here, let me demonstrate..."  
  
Getting down onto her knees, she soon began to twirl her fingers to cause the sand to animate into tiny versions of her and Amethyst. Nora watched in amazement, not knowing she had this power, and wondering if it was only done for tiny recreations of Gems.   
  
"Amethyst and I are able to synchronize our forms to create a more powerful Gem called Opal. It's called _fusing,_ and all Gems can do it."  
  
This grew even more of Nora's interest, and she pressed further: "S-so, what is Opal like? If it's like a combination of you both, does that mean she has both your outfits combined?"  
  
"Not exactly," replied Pearl. "Opal has my grace and style, and Amethyst's... humor?"  
  
Jumping in before Amethyst could say something sarcastic, Spinel proclaimed whilst hugging Pearl around her waist, "Yeah, Opal is great! I don't know why we never see her, she's so cool!"  
  
"I appreciate that, but we only fuse if it's absolutely necessary," Pearl informed her, patting her on the head as she was unsure how to escape this position.

Suddenly, the Gems all saw a light emitting from the Beach House, and they soon all rushed inside- they knew it must've been Garnet, but were awfully curious what information she might be bringing them.  
  
At the front of the group, Nora asked eagerly, "Garnet, what did you find? Did you get me anything?"  
  
Casually, Garnet handed Nora a rock, which she happily began to caress, loving interesting textures such as that.  
  
"I located the Heaven and Earth Beetles, I think we should split up to retrieve them- I'll go to the lava lake to retrieve the Earth Beetle. Now let me decide who should go to the Sky Spire..."  
  
Everyone completely respected Garnet's decisions, so they patiently waited to see who she was going to pick. Certainly, she'd know the exact combination of Gems to select to best complete this mission.  
  
Soon, she spoke again, and declared, "Amethyst, Pearl, and Nora, you three should go. The rest of you should keep the house safe."  
  
"W-what?!" Amethyst and Pearl exclaimed in confusion, not understanding why this was seen as the best option.  
  
The other Gems seemed questionable about this too, given their turbulent relationship, but Garnet gave them a look that made it clear she had something specific in mind.  
  
Of course, Nora had no such qualms, holding her hands (and thus, the rock) in the air and exclaiming, "Yeah, this is great! Ooh, maybe you two can become Opal during the mission~?"  
  
"Don't be so hopeful," Amethyst remarked, giving a salty glance at Pearl, as if pinning it all on her for their lack of fusing.  
  
Soon, the trio went to the Warp Pad, and in an instant, they were at the base of a mountain that leads toward the Sky Spire itself. Delightfully, Nora saw a butterfly fluttering around, and found herself failing to convince the two that it would be worthy of fusing to protect her from the creature. It was quite amusing to see the butterfly land on Pearl's nose and cause her to freak out, although that soon sparked ire toward Amethyst due to her mockery.  
  
After a moment of listening to their arguing, Nora asked the two of them, "Do you think a song would help keep our spirits up?"  
  
"Hmm, sure, you're a great singer," Pearl replied with a smile, patting her on the head.   
  
Beaming brightly, she soon began to express her feelings in a wondrous and pleasing melody, one that made it almost seem as if she was producing a backing instrumental out of thin air (even with leaving her keytar at home). Through her song, she was able to properly explain her excitement to see Opal come into being! Singing her song made the journey to the very top of the Sky Spire feel a lot shorter than it was, which was beneficial given how much time was spent on Amethyst and Pearl's disagreements.  
  
Soon, they found themselves looking at several floating platforms, and Nora rushed to follow the butterfly as it flew over the structures and toward the spires.  
  
Urgently, though, Pearl stopped her and informed her, "I don't think you'd be able to make those jumps!"  
  
"R-Really? Hmm, I bet Opal could toss me over it! That'd really convenient, right?"  
  
Chuckling, Amethyst remarked, "Not like she could throw you any better than I could!"  
  
Before Nora could ask what that meant, she found herself lifted and tossed quite a distance before landing on the middlest platform of the bunch. Amethyst jumped right next to her, causing her to wobble a little before catching her balance.  
  
"A-Amethyst, that isn't safe!" Pearl exclaimed as she began to jump after them one platform at a time.  
  
Scoffing at that idea, Amethyst casually nudged Nora, causing her to immediately fall.  
  
In a moment of pure instinct, Pearl jumped to grab her, though quickly she realized she'd have no way to get back to safe ground. Thankfully, Amethyst used her whip to catch her, and quickly pulled her back up.  
  
Strangely delighted by this, Nora complimented, "You guys are great when you work together!"  
  
This caused them to look away, seemingly flustered to hear such words. Of course, this did not dissuade her when it came to trying to get them to fuse.  
  
After a long period of time, they made it to the top of the stairs, and Nora felt like collapsing. However, her spirits were lifted by two things: the butterfly from before being there, and a tiny temple!   
  
"The Heaven Beetle has to be inside," Pearl explained as Nora rushed over to take a peek.  
  
Peeking inside, she questioned, "Why would they need a tiny bed? I thought Gems didn't need to sleep."  
  
"They don't _need_ to sleep, but certainly some enjoy doing it. And the Heaven and Earth Beetles, well..."  
  
Pearl was interrupted by Amethyst, who questioned, "Have you two found her yet?"  
  
"Her?"  
  
Quickly responding before further questions were asked, Pearl informed her impatiently, "No, we haven't! And we certainly haven't been assisted any by you leaning like that!"  
  
"Oh, so everything's _my_ fault? If you hadn't spent so much time complaining, we'd probably have gotten here an hour ago!"  
  
Their arguing began to get a bit passionate, and Nora wasn't sure whether to try and interrupt or just use the inspection of this tiny temple as a distraction. However, a third option presented itself: take note of the dangerous giant bird flying toward them. Luckily, the other two Crystal Gems noticed not too long afterward and rushed to get inside.   
  
With a sense of importance, Nora tried to lift the tiny temple, with the thought process that she'd need to keep it safe for when they found the Heaven Beetle. However, the weight was oddly too much for her and she ended up falling over. In an instant, the bird swooped over her, and things got dark.  
  
It took a moment, but she soon realized what had happened- she had been swallowed whole by the bird. This was a new and terrifying experience for her, only helped slightly by the fact that she discovered the Heaven Beetle was also there!   
  
"I-I'm trying my best, but... I can't get angry enough to turn pink! I-I'm not even angry, I'm just scared, and sad... I'm scared because I'm gonna get digested, and I'm sad because I might die before I get to see a fusion..."  
  
Suddenly, things began to look hopeful- an arm reached through the giant bird and pulled her out, and as she watched the giant bird seemingly dissolve into hundreds of tiny shards, she began to realize something. This person who saved her was of a rather large size, and they definitely seemed feminine. Could they very well be called a... giant woman?   
  
The next few minutes were quite intense as she watched the giant woman make some great leaps in order to keep her out of harm's way before using a bow and arrow to ward off the tiny birds that seemed to be part of the bigger one's group. Soon, all was safe, and even the butterfly was okay! Nora felt quite proud of herself, too, for keeping the Heaven Beetle in her pocket.  
  
Not knowing the way fusion worked, she nervously asked, "D-do you remember me, Opal...?"  
  
"Of course. I could never forget you, Nora. Did I make a good first impression?"  
  
Smiling excitedly, she responded, "I-It was great!"  
  
A decent amount of time later, they warped back, with Nora excitedly gesturing to Opal upon seeing Garnet was here!  
  
"The Heaven Beetle."  
  
Opal gasped and unfused, and Amethyst and Pearl began bickering about who could be blamed for the forgetting of this important thing. However, Nora stopped their fretting by presenting it to Garnet!  
  
Smiling, Garnet soon placed the Heaven Beetle into a tank alongside the Earth Beetle, and the two seemed to grow excited to be next to each other.

Nora rushed to the tall Gem's side and gushed to her, "I saw my first fusion today! Opal was so cool, it was like all the coolest parts of Amethyst and Pearl mushed together!"  
  
"That is the wonderful thing about fusion. And one day, you'll be able to fuse too."  
  
This gave her a rush of excitement, and she wondered who her first fusion partner might be. Her cheeks turned red as she considered her ideal candidate, wondering if it could ever work...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! I couldn't bring myself to take Opal out of her role as the first fusion that she witnesses, although I do intend to include plenty more. And I also plan to include some more chapters not explicitly based on any episodes to explore some of the new dynamics formed, so stay tuned~
> 
> (Also, the fact that I said 'chess' was an actual mistake, but I decided to keep it because multiverse and whatnot.)


	11. An Important Discussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot ponders Garnet's choices and wonders about her own potential for fusion.

Peridot had expressed her excitement about the success of Nora's mission, giving her a pat on the back and some words of approval. After that, she silently headed out to the Barn, a familiar place to her that seemed strange to still be there. She began pondering how long it might be before that Andy fellow comes along, and how different things will go now that she no longer has any need to reside in it. Of course, she still felt a growing desire to start a garden, but some things took higher priority at the moment. After all, the construction of the Drill was still going smoothly. It felt shameful to her that it took them so long to get it to the point that it could almost work, but all great inventions take time.   
  
This was not why she came to the Barn, though- to ponder the relatives of Nora, or the construction of Earth-saving devices. Clearly, Garnet knew exactly why she was here, or else she wouldn't have come out there to see her. A good few minutes were spent between the two of them just sitting in silence, and Peridot had no idea when she was expected to start speaking.  
  
Finally, Garnet turned to her and reminded her, "You don't need to be afraid to talk to me."  
  
"O-okay... how did you know that sending Amethyst and Pearl on the mission with Nora would go well? Why not send a pair of Gems with her that well, _got along?_ Not that I'm questioning your judgment, but-"  
  
Chuckling, she assured Peridot, "You're allowed to question my judgment, Peridot. I know I sometimes can overvalue my future vision or not use it to its fullest. I feel the utmost confidence in the choice I made sending them together, though. We needed Opal's specific abilities for that mission, and sending them together with Nora was the perfect way to get them to look past their differences and fuse again."  
  
"That does make sense... I suppose."  
  
Putting a hand on her shoulder, Garnet informed her, "I know that wasn't the only issue you had. If you don't want to discuss it with me right now, I understand."  
  
"You really have your way of getting people to talk, don't you? Alright, I'll say it- I want to fuse! When I saw Opal on that Warp Pad, I felt like maybe fusion was what was missing in bringing Lapis and me together for real! I know we both like each other, but how do I really know she wants to well... _be_ with me?" Peridot questioned, looking down at the ground to avoid looking directly at the fusion during this emotional exchange.  
  
Thinking about this for a moment, the leader soon responded, "Fusion isn't the solution to uncertainty. If you wish to know if she truly feels the way you feel toward her, an honest discussion is what you really need. I will admit, though, that it seems to me that she definitely does."  
  
"Y-you're just trying to tease me!" she explained, blushing profusely.  
  
Snickering lightly, Garnet replied teasingly, "Sure, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's not true. I suppose you're not fully satisfied with my advice."  
  
"I-It's good advice, really. But... do you think Lapis would ever want to fuse with me? Do you think she's ready for that? After everything she's-"  
  
Interrupting, she reminded her gently, "I hope you remember that Lapis Lazuli has not experienced anything that would be all too likely to deter her from fusing. Perhaps you are thinking about the other timeline you've experienced through, and I can imagine it must be hard to not think about that."  
  
"Oh, eheh, yeah, I think I was thinking about that. I guess really, Lapis has spent more time at this point _not_ trapped in a mirror than she has trapped, and she's had a lot of time to get adjusted to life around people. Um, do you know where she is right now?"  
  
Adjusting her visor, Garnet replied, "I believe Lapis is most likely in her room. I advise you to begin your conversation on the subject of your shared feelings, and then gently move into the subject of fusing. Fusion is a serious idea that has to be gently approached, especially between two people who have never fused before. Even if she's never had any experiences to deter her from it, I imagine she'd still need to consider the idea first. So, it'd be best to not rush her."  
  
"O-Of course! I wouldn't do that to her! T-Thanks Garnet, you're really smart," Peridot told her with a smile, giving her a hug, soon rushing off toward the Temple.  
  
A tear of happiness streamed down from Garnet's visor as she ran, thinking of the joy that Peridot and Lapis would potentially feel soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you miss the Peri Perspective from the original Peridot Effect? Well, this chapter has that in full swing! Of course, we'll definitely be going to various POVs throughout this story to explore as many of the new dynamics as possible, so strap in! (And it's up to you, the audience, if I do more non-episode chapters or if I swap between the episode and non-episodes ones to keep a good flow. Because I did leave things off in a way that could easily lead into a chapter with Peridot and Lapis's discussion.)


	12. Poolside Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was time for Peridot and Lapis to have an important conversation.

Peridot had not entered Lapis Lazuli's room nearly enough for her liking. It wasn't as if she was unable to do it- it was rather easy, due to how the rooms connected to each other. Plus, it never seemed like the hydrokinetic Gem had any issue with having visitors. Of course, the Lapis from her world had spent a good amount of her life preferring her alone time before warming up to people, but in this reality, she hadn't endured nearly as much to warrant such things. So, the only thing keeping Peridot out of Lapis's room was herself. Every time she thought about potentially going there, she started thinking about Lapis herself and all the feelings that came with her. Then, she'd get too flustered to want to think about anything. It felt silly to her that she could have trouble doing something so simple, but with Garnet's help, she was getting herself to do it already.  
  
It didn't take long to get from her room in the Temple to Lapis's, and when she entered the relaxing environment, she saw that Lapis was already there enjoying a few laps in the pool. She thought back to what the original Lapis had told her when she had presented her with a smaller-than-average lake and realized just how different things were. This Lapis had never been trapped at the bottom of the ocean! She felt very happy to think about that, but man, was it strange to observe these vast differences.  
  
"Peridot? I didn't notice you come in," Lapis remarked, sounding mildly surprised as she brought herself to a ladder and climbed her way back up, soon reforming her regular clothes in favor over the bikini she had sported to be as comfortable as possible for her swim.  
  
After briefly averting her eyes to not spread a blush across her face so soon, she replied, "Y-Yeah, sorry. I just wanted to talk to you, honestly. It's something I've been thinking about for a long time."  
  
"Oh, okay! Wanna sit down first?"  
  
Nodding, she soon followed the other Gem to a table with two chairs on either side, both comfortable and convenient for conversations. Now, she just needed to muster up the courage to say exactly what was on her mind.  
  
Finally looking back up at Lapis, she admitted, "I don't know if this is going to sound weird or silly or anything, but... I really like you."  
  
"Oh, I know that Peridot, it's-"  
  
Interrupting, Peridot continued, "N-No, I mean, I... I love you, Lapis. When I see you, I feel so much happier, and... I get if maybe romance isn't something you're ready for, and we already have plenty on your hands with the Drill, so-"  
  
"It's okay, I'm fine," she assured her with a smile, now taking her turn interrupting. "The Drill is pretty much done, we basically have all the time we need for that. And I'm sorry I didn't say anything about it, I guess I just thought we both mutually knew, but if it'll make you feel more secure... I love you too."  
  
Her cheeks swiftly turned a teal color as she realized that what she just heard wasn't some auditory illusion, but completely real. Still, it seemed so unbelievable that this exchange of feelings could happen so fast and yet feel like so much more.  
  
Trying not to look foolish, the triangle-haired Gem questioned, "C-can I kiss you...?"  
  
It hadn't been what she initially planned to ask, but it was one she was happy to receive a positive answer for, and soon she experienced her first kiss. Her past experiences with the act, and observing Greg and Rose's relationship in the last few years, had given her plenty of time to get to know what the best method was. Her observations paid off, thankfully, with both of them feeling equally happy at the end.  
  
"Heh, not that I mind, but it almost seems like you came in here just to flirt," Lapis gently teased, which helped to give more teal shade to Peridot's cheeks.  
  
Keeping her cool nonetheless, Peridot assured her, "T-that isn't all I wanted to say. Y-you see... I wanted to know how you'd feel about fusing with me."  
  
"F-Fusing? Wow, I never thought about that... how would that even work? I know Garnet's a fusion, but I don't talk to her enough to really understand."  
  
Giving a nod of understanding, she soon answered, "Well, we'd just need to dance with each other and remain in sync, and we'd both want to do it equally. So, how do you feel?"  
  
"...that sounds nice."  
  
The two would soon stand and begin to dance at the edge of Lapis's shimmering indoor pool, attempting to be graceful and not risk falling in and losing focus. Despite Peridot's worries, she didn't stumble or get jittery. Soon, she felt herself almost disappear...  
  
It was a no-brainer what powers the two would get upon fusing. Peridot can manipulate metal, and Lapis can manipulate water. Thus, their fusion has Ygró-ferrokinesis- the ability to form, manipulate, and shape liquid metal. But what about their personality?  
  
Peridot was eccentric, analytical, compassionate, and rather hyperactive, while Lapis was more laid-back, morbid, sarcastic, but generally joyful. What would the common ground be? Where would their contrasting perspectives and mannerisms meet to form one being?  
  
Both feel great empathy for those around them. Both are somewhat comedic Gems, one being a deadpan snarker and the other being a plain goof. Both are artistic and have shown natural gifts for music. What would this mean for her, then?  
  
After a moment of pondering, she finally looked at her reflection and saw herself for the first time. She was tall, at least a head taller than Lapis, and she had some amazing curly hair. Her hue was a greenish-blue, and her outfit combined elements from both of her components- the pointy visor and the big baggy pants.   
  
Chuckling, she snarked, "I look like a real winner, don't I?"  
  
She soon cracked herself up as she narrowly avoided falling head-first into the pool in front of her, before a name came into her head.  
  
"Turquoise, that's who I am! I'm Turquoise! Wow, this is great!" she exclaimed, hugging herself.   
  
She would remain fused for another hour, spending the time introducing herself to the rest of the Gems- including Nora, who was flabbergasted to have met two fusions in one day! When she unfused, Peridot expected she'd feel exhausted, but she really felt rejuvenated! She was eager to see when and how Nora would one day fuse because she knew it'd be a blast for her if she met someone as perfect as she did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I certainly am enjoying these non-episode chapters as much as you guys are! Doesn't mean I'm done following the SU plots in some fashion, but it is fun to go original! 
> 
> BTW, I recently saw word from a storyboarder on the show that Peridot is meant to act as the aro/ace rep for Steven Universe, and as someone who is ace, that is really exciting to me! For this story, I plan to continue as I've been doing with the cute stuff with her and Lapis, but I'd love to eventually make a Lapidot-centric story (perhaps another human AU) centering on Peridot being ace, probably throwing in an autism headcanon there too.


	13. An Ordinary Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much of interest really happens.

Beach City was quite an interesting town, as many would observe. It was the sole place of residence for the Crystal Gems, a team of feminine humanoid warriors with the sole duty of protecting Earth and all its inhabitants. Because of this, things happened in this town that could be called quite interesting and peculiar on a daily basis. Monsters would attack, pieces of technology would be used for strange means and would leave people quite frazzled, and stuff would generally be out of whack for a brief period of time before the status quo was restored.

Unfortunately, today was a day that nobody could describe as being interesting. Nope, not a single person thought that anything of interest was happening in the oceanside town of Beach City, located in Delmarva, a state in America, a country on the planet Earth, a planet in the Milky Way galaxy, one of many galaxies in the observable universes, often theorized to be one of many universes as part of a larger multiverse. Although the population of this specific town was relatively small, it was still a unanimous decision to agree on the singular fact that nothing worth describing was ever going to happen on this particular day of the week.

Why was the case? Nobody could really say. It was unusual for something unusual to not be happening, so technically, this could be said to be interesting in of itself. However, very few people were very interested in non-interesting things happening, even if interesting things happening was enough of the norm that it could potentially be considered uninteresting to even point that out. Because of that quite simple fact, it was clear to see that there was nothing worthwhile to mention this point in time in this specific area of the universe.

Perhaps one could consider the fact that not every day necessarily needed to have bursts of action and adventure to be considered interesting, and that interest could be found in the smaller things- like a pretty blue sky, or a warm smile. Even with this in mind, it couldn't be understated that such concepts had been accepted as part of the mundane for the people of Beach City, Delmarva. Thus, it was naturally viewed as more interesting to witness exciting feats of strength and cunning battle strategies than to lay one's eyes upon more relaxed concepts for these humble residents. 

The Crystal Gems- consisting of Bismuth, Lapis, Peridot, Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Spinel, and Nora (who was the youngest and the least experienced, but still dedicated to the cause)- didn't have much of a choice but to acknowledge the lack of action there was to be had on this day, which happened to be a Thursday- named after Thor, the Germanic god of thunder. In all their years of doing the stuff they did, which was very important and cool to watch, they never endured a day as uneventful, unnotable, and unexciting as today. It was pretty quirky and cooky how little they had to do.

"Wow," Peridot remarked, leaning against one of the many walls that kept their house from falling down, "there is nothing to do today!"

In response, Lapis replied, "I agree."

It was a response entirely unnecessary to make or describe, as only a nod or a smile of approval would be needed. It was also redundant to both state that she 'replied' and to put the phrase 'in response' at the very beginning of the sentence, as both could easily be said by themselves and mean the same thing. 

  
"Oh," Pearl muttered, standing at a forty-degree angle and facing the other two Gems from five feet away, "I would have to concur with that statement."

Garnet, who had been stoic and silent and generally pretty cool for the last five minutes and fifty-two microseconds, spoke up to declare in a very confident and awesome manner, "That's probably right."

Every single Crystal Gem currently in Beach City was scattered throughout the room, only giving occasional remarks regarding their agreement on the subject of how little there was to do on this day of the month, whatever month that was. It was a dull, slow process that would drive sane men to the brink of not being as sane as they were minutes prior, which many scientists would shrug in agreement on after minutes of prying on the subject.

Suddenly, nothing happened.

Then, something did happen, to some degree: everyone all at once began to realize they were simply characters in a work of fiction, which itself was based on another work of fiction.

"So, this is like, a fanfiction?" Pearl realized.

Nodding, Garnet confirmed, "Yes, one being written on the concept of Peridot being in a Peggy Sue situation in which her mind from the present has been transported into her mind from the past."

"That's the only explanation for such a convoluted plot and the only way you could have any knowledge on what a Peggy Sue story was!" Peridot declared in a gesticulatory manner.

Blinking several times on quick concession, Amethyst questioned, "If that's the case, what's the point of anything if we know that we technically don't have any free will?"

"Well, maybe we've gained control for at least a short amount of time. I doubt the writer of this fanfiction would allow us to gain knowledge of our existence in fiction," Bismuth suggested.

Growing a tad bit anxious, Lapis admitted, "We're probably not going to remember any of this- we'll each get a line of dialogue, and then this will fade from our heads."

"Is this even worth remembering? I'd rather live life thinking I was acting on my own will, rather than someone else's for the entertainment of others," Pearl quickly countered.

Bouncing like a cartoon character, Spinel declared, "Yeah, so from the sound of it, it's in our best interest if we just get it over with and forget completely!"

The group all shared one last knowledgable glance before they just

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this half-baked April Fool's Day gag, to hold you over until my actual next chapter! Hope it didn't get a bit too existential there.
> 
> (Also, the reason I had it cut off was as a joke on how I often write toward 1,000 words as a general goal.)


	14. Nora and Lars's Escapade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora gets to know Lars a lot better through their interesting adventure with some rad teens.

It was always intriguing to Nora to learn about Gem culture, and even more than that, to learn about her mother. So, to discover that her mother had planted some kind of moss hundreds of years ago that was now endangering all living life in Beach City certainly excited her. Not that she found it a particularly positive thing, it was just great to learn more about her mom when the Gems seemed so hesitant to talk about it. 

Anyhow, Pearl had the perfect solution to make sure humans didn't try and mess with the moss- use police tape to discourage anyone from trying to get anywhere near it. In all honesty, Nora thought it might be better to use a more physical barrier, but she didn't particularly want to question Pearl's authority. Plus, the job got finished fairly fast before she could even offer any assistance, and she was yet to get any lunch. So, she bid the Gems and the moss farewell before heading off for lunch!  
  
With pep in her step, Nora made her way to Fish Stew Pizza- this time actually remembering to carry some money on her so she wouldn't get an earful from the owner, who she knew was pretty strict when it came to paying upfront. (Seeing as how the rest of the Gems weren't exactly interested in grabbing a bite with her, she couldn't simply rely on them having some money stored in their Gems.) When she got to the entrance, she saw the interesting sight of Lars leaning against the wall in a very casual manner.  
  
She felt like she had a general understanding of most people in Beach City, but Lars always felt strange to her for whatever reason. She wouldn't call him a bully or anything, but he always seems like he treats her like some kind of annoyance and never really appears to register any of her kindness. A part of her felt like maybe the reason he never responded to her nice demeanor was that he didn't feel like he deserved any of it and that he acted mean as a self-defense mechanism. In that case, that made her feel more encouragement to try and show Lars how deserving he was of love!  
  
Stepping toward him, she held her hands out to greet him by exclaiming, "Hey Lars, you're looking great today!"  
  
"Shh, don't harsh my mellow!" Lars whispered to her, not moving from his position.  
  
Tilting her head in confusion, she questioned, "Are you uh, okay? You usually react more when I'm around."  
  
"I don't have time for you right now, Nora! Go hang out with one of your moms or aunts or whatever, I'm trying to move myself up in the world!"  
  
She was unsure of what he meant, but then noticed a group of familiar teens inside the pizza place sitting around a table. When she was old enough to move around town, she had gotten to know them quite well as the prime example of what it meant to be rad, young, and human! Besides what she saw on television, of course, but those were rarely actually young people.  
  
Smiling excitedly, she moved to head inside to greet them, but Lars grabbed her arm to stop her while urging, "D-Don't, you'll ruin it!"  
  
"What do you mean? I just wanna say hi!"  
  
Facepalming, Lars explained, "If I look desperate, there's no way they'll think I'm one of them!"  
  
"Well, you can't be one of 'em if you don't talk to 'em! ...oh, they're coming over here, what luck! Do I look presentable?"   
  
Not listening to her rambling, Lars went back into position leaning against the wall as the Cool Kids came to the door.   
  
Before Lars could advise against it, Nora greeted them in a bubbly manner, "Hey, Lars and I thought it might be fun to hang, what do you guys think?"  
  
"...that sounds cool. We have some extra room in the back, so you guys can come to join."  
  
Jenny could be heard lamenting that it was about time they "got another girl up in this group" as everyone headed to the car, and Lars was left dumbfounded that Nora could just so easily get on their good side without even trying! What was he missing that she had?   
  
Soon, the Pizza daughter would drive the group around Beach City, with Nora being adorably sincere and sweet in a way that was quite endearing to the group, while Lars was fumbling the whole time to win their approval through incredible pandering in the favor of compliments and praise. The young Crystal Gem knew that Lars most likely didn't have the most experience when it came to friendship, given that the only consistent friendship he seems to have is with someone he bickers with like an old married couple. Still, she hoped he could get some experience and learn how to better achieve great relationships! Of course, Nora wouldn't say she was an expert- this town had a super small population and she still wasn't friends with everyone here yet- but she was sure she could be of some assistance.  
  
Eventually, the car pulled up to a lagoon called Dead Man's Mouth, either named after a man's mysterious death or the lagoon being in the shape of a mouth. Seeing the police tape, Nora immediately knew this was the place the Gems had quarantined from the humans and had to do something!  
  
"Um, we probably shouldn't be here, maybe we can go get something to eat!" Nora suggested enthusiastically.  
  
With a look of amusement, Jenny teased, "Goofball, we just left from gettin' pizza! What, you scared the cops are gonna get us? Beach City ain't exactly known for their police force."  
  
"Yeah, Nora, don't be a buzzkill," Lars remarked, following the rest of the group through the police tape, with Nora unable to stop them from disobeying.  
  
All the Cool Kids seemed eager to dive straight into the water, and Lars obviously wanted to join. However, the youngest of the group managed to grab his leg to stop him, evoking plenty of annoyance due to him feeling like he had finally become a part of the gang. When he saw what the teens looked as the exited from the water, though, his tune definitely changed.  
  
He let out a gasp of fear and shock as he saw the Cool Kids become cocooned in the dangerous moss, seemingly suffocating, and he asked desperately, "W-what is happening to them?!"  
  
"M-My mom grew that moss up on the hill before I was born, I think it got out of control!"  
  
Making a sound of frustration, Lars exclaimed, "I guess it figures it'd have something to do with you! I lost my one chance at being part of the group, thanks to your weird dead mom!"  
  
Now, this made Nora feel a lot of things very quickly, but most prominently was anger. She was angry that Lars was thinking only about himself in a time where these teens were in such a bad spot, and she was angry that he felt the need to insult her mom for something beyond her control. Most of all, though, she was angry that he would disparage Rose when she wasn't around to defend herself.  
  
"What do you know... _about **my** mom?!"  
  
_Before she knew it, it seemed as if she had turned a bright pink color, and cracks had begun to form in the ground around her as she clenched her fists in fury. Her pink form began to dissipate when she saw Lars looking at her with a mix of fear and regret, but then primarily fear when he saw the moss had reached his foot and was moving up.  
  
Gasping in shock, he pleaded, "I-I'll never say anything bad about you again, j-just please help me!"  
  
"I-I will, I promise! I-I just... need... more time...!"  
  
Her hue suddenly became pink again, as she witnessed something brand new: time seemingly come to a standstill, with the flutter of birds' wings becoming as slow as a turtle, and the movement of the moss becoming as slow as a snail's trail of slime.  
  
Gasping in a mix of disbelief and excitement, she would quickly lift up both Lars and the Cool Kids and begin to run up the hill, eager to get them to where she thought they needed to be. The moss was still trying to eat at her, but her boost of speed had given her enough time that it wouldn't be able to overtake her before she got up there.  
  
Panting a little, she placed them down and muttered, "Finally, I made it..."  
  
Suddenly, time moved the same as before, with the moss moving up her and Lars's body at a scary pace.  
  
"N-Nora, w-what's going on, how did-?!" he questioned frantically before both of them were completely covered, and darkness replaced all sight.  
  
Suddenly, the light of day peeked through, and Nora realized she wasn't dead. The moss had seemingly been able to bloom at its place of growth, turning into beautiful pink flowers that flew away in the breeze.  
  
Turning to Lars slowly, Nora questioned, "Did you mean what you said about never saying anything bad about me?"  
  
"...I-I'll think about it, okay? I was really stressed out, and-"  
  
She interrupted with a hug, and he seemed happy to return it as the Cool Kids thought about what they just experienced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured I should go back into doing some episode adaptations, and I hadn't really established Lars's character yet, so...
> 
> Also, I think I might want to do some plot planning for this story as well, because I want to get a general idea of what plot beats I'll be doing later. (Especially since I want to capture the excitement of the first season despite having characters like Lapis and Peridot already there.)
> 
> BTW, I mentioned once or twice wanting to do another Lapidot story, possibly with some ace Peridot. But I wonder how people would feel about a queer-platonic Lapidot story with ARO-ace Peridot, given that it's implied she's both. Perhaps I could prove that fluff and cuteness can still be achieved without the romance, and that friendship is just as great~


	15. An Odd Fellow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora meets an unusual kid that leads her down a dark path.

Nora had lost something very precious to her, and she was unsure of what she could do about it. This precious thing was her Ranger Guy, a toy as part of the G.U.Y.S. series of collectible action figures. He was the rarest of all of the collectibles, so it felt like a mighty great accomplishment when she managed to scoop him up- or more accurately, her dad managed to scoop him up! But now, it seemed as if her accomplishment had been taken away, as she was left with her most prized possession snatched up without a trace.   
  
She decided to go to Amethyst, who was lounging on a beach chair just on the porch, and ask her if she knew anything about the whereabouts of her Ranger Guy. Apparently, Amethyst was unfamiliar with the Guys Under Your Supervision toyline, which was quite shameful for someone quite invested in Earth culture. However, she got nowhere in her search except a lecture from Pearl about keeping her room tidy and a front-row seat at an argument between the two of them about how to organize a room.  
  
Her next stop was her dad himself, Greg Universe, who should be an expert on Ranger Guy since he did buy him for her. However, his memory seemed to be more attached to the funnel cake they ate. She couldn't entirely blame him since it was quite a fine cuisine, but that wasn't exactly helping anything. He would take her on a trip to scour through his van to see if anything had gotten lost in there. In all honesty, she didn't know why he had such a bad habit of leaving things in there when he had his own room, but perhaps it's easy to forget that with how many years he must've spent living out of there. Ultimately, the search ended fruitlessly- not literally, as there were some apple cores scattered about, but in a figurative sense- but she did get a bag full of quarters to try and make up for her loss. She rewarded him with quite the hug, before dashing off to the happiest place on Earth- Funland Arcade!  
  
After several minutes of placing quarter after quarter into the machine, Nora sighed in defeat and let her many Dave Guys topple to the ground. She knew that they were the most common, but she had really hoped that she would get at least one Ranger Guy among her _thirty_ Dave Guys! It was enough that she could use them as kindling for a fire, and really, that might be the better use of them than actually playing with them.  
  
Suddenly, she saw Onion actually exit from the machine while munching on some kind of chocolate treat. It was a very confusing thing for her to see, but what was far more interesting to her was what was poking out of Onion's back pocket. It appeared to be... a _Ranger Guy!_ Figures that with so many quarters, she wasn't able to get one, but someone like Onion (who didn't seem like the kind to have a ton of change) seemingly got a Ranger Guy without any effort. She would rush after him in order to try and haggle, although she had to wait until he was done with his very strange rituals (like getting food from a businessman and then tossing the food into the ocean) and hugging his dad.  
  
Trying to walk over to Onion casually, she remarked, "Hey, so, you're a fan of these G.U.Y.S., right?"  
  
Onion looked at her blankly, so she just decided to just keep talking.  
  
"Well, I notice you have one of those Ranger Guys- how about trading for an even _cooler_ Dave Guy??"  
  
However, the little weirdo would just turn and walk around.  
  
Gasping, she'd rush to run after him, urging desperately, "W-wait, you don't have to have just one! Thirty Dave Guys are worth one Ranger Guy, right?!"  
  
The answer was seemingly no, as Onion disappeared from sight, and Nora would find herself moping on the porch.  
  
"Stupid Dave Guy. How can you expect to ever accomplish anything? That awful haircut, those tacky clothes, that dorky smile..."  
  
With a chuckle, Amethyst would remark as she stepped onto the porch, "Heh, yeah, Pearl _is_ pretty lame, huh?"  
  
"What? No, Pearl is pretty cool. My issue is with Dave Guy- I couldn't trade thirty of him for a Ranger Guy, isn't that just awful?"  
  
Amethyst would nod, pretending to be as concerned, before taking a strange piece of Gem technology out of her hair and offering it to Nora while proclaiming, "Well, I'm sure this could solve your issue- a Gem Replicator!"  
  
"Oh, wow- I could make a bunch more Dave Guys until I have enough to be worth trading for a Ranger Guy!"  
  
Blinking, the purple-haired Gem would ask, "Why can't you just duplicate the Ranger Guy?"  
  
Nora definitely felt quite silly having not figured that out on her own, and would thank Amethyst for giving her that help. So, she'd head out to try and find Onion.   
  
Eventually, she managed to find him performing a weird ritual- throwing a ketchup packet on the ground, running it over to create quite a red sticky mess, and then letting the motorcycle explode in a fiery blaze. It was an odd backdrop for what was meant to be a quick transaction, but hey, maybe this'll just be a red herring and Onion will end up being very easy to work with!  
  
"Hey, Onion! I know you didn't wanna trade your Ranger Guy, but you don't have to anymore! With my Gem Replicator, I can duplicate the Ranger Guy so we can both have one!" she excitedly offered.  
  
Onion turned toward Nora slowly, looking intrigued, stepping closer.   
  
"You understand, right? You don't need to give up anything! Just let me hold your Ranger Guy for a sec..."  
  
She began to feel... strange. As she grew closer to him, it felt like things began to grow darker and colder. Was this just a side-effect of her increased anxiety in regards to her desire to get the Ranger Guy, or was this the effect Onion had on those that didn't understand him? Either way, she could sense she was starting to grow a light shade of pink purely as some sort of defense, but she tried to repress it. Onion was harmless, she doesn't need to use any Gem powers to be able to handle him.  
  
Soon, he held out the toy desired, and Nora began to reach forward...   
  
She gasped as she suddenly saw her hands empty, and Onion gone. If he was gone, though, why did she still feel cold...?  
  
Inevitably, though, she'd feel some unpleasant emotions bubbling within her when she understood what had happened. Onion had made off with the Gem Replicator, now using it to cause trouble by duplicating all sorts of things. Meanwhile, he had left her without any Ranger Guys in return. How could someone so young be so careless when it comes to other people? There's no way his dad would've taught him to treat people like that, or his mom. Her pink hue was returning, and this time she didn't feel as inclined to let it fade away.  
  
The Gems were quickly on the scene, about to ask about what had happened, but given that Nora was now glowing and looking quite perturbed, the answer was clear.  
  
"Nora, you don't need to do this yourself. He's only a child, we can handle this," Garnet assured her.  
  
Bismuth nodded and stated confidently, "With all of us here, it won't be any trouble to get him settled down!"  
  
"No, this is personal."  
  
The septet of Gems now saw a bit of an issue arising, as Nora seemed far too insistent on going against Onion, and they had doubts she was going to be able to show proper restraint against him. So, Pearl decided to whisper in Spinel's ear something that would be a good idea for her to do.  
  
Eager to help, Spinel would proceed to wrap her arms around Nora to try and hold her still, her arms acting almost like rope.  
  
Struggling to pull away, Nora urged, "I-I have to do this!"  
  
"He's only a kid, he doesn't know what he's doing!" Spinel reminded Nora, though really, she didn't know what was up with Onion either.   
  
Soon, growing too tired to struggle more, Nora would relax and lean against the heart-shaped friend. By then, she could see the Gems were getting things worked out- Amethyst snatching the Replicator with her whip, and Pearl informing Onion in a motherly way that he shouldn't take things that don't belong to him. Soon, all the duplicated items vanished.  
  
With a sigh, Nora sat down on the sidewalk and lamented, "Nothing was resolved- I still don't have what I was looking for, and I still don't get what the deal with Onion is."  
  
"Hm, I think we can solve both those issues now," Spinel remarked with an elbow nudge, gesturing to the previously mentioned oddball child.  
  
Looking up, she would be surprised to see Onion approaching shyly, offering to share his Ranger Guy with Nora. Perhaps she had been a bit too harsh on the kid- maybe he only really wanted a friend.  
  
Well, he was still plenty disturbing, but that's besides the point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems obvious that Onion's creepiness would bring us to some dark angst territory, right? Especially since I've been on a roll with Nora unlocking those anger powers early.
> 
> Also, sorry for my absence, stuff has certainly gotten in the way of consistent posting.


	16. Nora the Noble Knight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora is interested in learning how to practice swordfighting with Pearl, and things definitely go as intended.

After some serious evaluation, Nora decided on what seemed like the most fitting attire for some serious sword-training- a red jacket to keep from getting too cold up in the clouds, her blue jean-skirt for style, those comfortable flip-flops which she felt were both practical and appealing to the eyes, and her typically poofy hair done up in a bow to keep it from getting in her eyes. Sword-training needed concentration and no distractions!  
  
Her intrigue in the art of sword-fighting had been brewing since she first saw Pearl use her spear to ward off Gem monsters in a way she always found far more stylish and interesting than most other methods demonstrated by the other Gems. Not that she thinks their ways are bad, of course, there's just a certain flair of swinging a sharp blade and slicing through a foe that a whip or a fist cannot match. Upon watching Lonely Blade with Pearl, Bismuth, and Spinel, though, she found the swordplay of the movie fascinating enough to want to learn directly how to best utilize a blade like that!

"Hm, didn't Rose have her own sword? That'd probably be handy for something like this," Spinel would suggest, hand to her chin.  
  
Bismuth would nod confidently, responding, "Oh yeah, I built it! Although, I'm not sure where she put it..."  
  
"Rose really liked hiding things in places where nobody else could really access. Hm, it may just be a guess, but Nora, have you gotten to know Lion well enough for him to let you near his mane?"  
  
Hearing her question, Nora would approach Lion and place her hands on his mane, feeling her hands begin to enter into some strange other dimension. She'd soon dip herself completely into his mane and find herself in a weird pocket dimension, like an ocean of pink fur with a beautiful island nearby. Swimming toward it while holding her breath, she'd soon grab onto a large pink sword before diving back out... and then falling over from the sword's weight.  
  
Chuckling, Bismuth remarked, "Guess that makes about as much sense as anything else."  
  
Soon, they'd arrive on Pearl's floating arena in the sky, where Nora would try her best to hold the sword above her without falling over like a goof.   
  
"I'm not really sure if a sword is my kind of weapon, honestly..."  
  
Sighing, Pearl would politely take the sword away and place it in her Gem as she assured her, "That's alright, you have a shield and that works just fine. Besides, it's not as important to know how to use a sword as it is to understand how your opponent will use theirs, so you'll be able to counter in any way you see fit!"  
  
She'd turn and then summon a holographic copy of herself, looking like some sort of robot Pearl replica.   
  
"Holo-Pearl, seriously? Any one of us could be a better opponent than her!"  
  
Rolling her eyes, Pearl would reply, "I'm not looking for an incredible opponent, just one that will give her a good idea of how swordplay works!"  
  
The other two would watch with amusement, but Nora would be amazed seeing Pearl engage in a play-fight against her hologram, finding it so cool to see it done right in front of her!   
  
"Ooh, Pearl, can you do a backflip~?"  
  
Chuckling, Pearl would remark, "I can, but that would be unnecessary for this kind of battle."  
  
"Oh, what about a somersault, then? Or the splits?!" Nora exclaimed, causing Spinel to giggle.  
  
Pearl would sigh, turning her head to Nora to chastise, "Sword-fighting isn't about the tricks and flips! It's about waiting for the right moment to-!"  
  
 _"THRUST!"  
  
_ Suddenly, Pearl was stabbed through the chest by Holo-Pearl, causing her to let out a pained gasp. She had managed to get herself distracted due to her focus on trying to correct Nora's ideas on how swordfighting works, resulting in an ironic defeat.  
  
"Oh, dang," Spinel muttered, as Nora was already tearing up from this sight.  
  
Before Pearl could try and assure her that everything was okay, she would seemingly explode with smoke surrounding her. Her shiny smooth gem clinked on the ground and came to a stop right at Nora's feet, looking like any ordinary rock to any naked eye.  
  
Picking up Pearl's gem, the young Crystal Gem would sob, "W-what... b-but she... why...?"  
  
"It's alright, Nora, she's not gone. When a gem's physical form gets damaged, they'll retreat into their gem to regenerate. Pearl's gonna be okay," Bismuth would assure her.  
  
With a sly elbow, Spinel would joke, "Maybe until she gets back, we can have Holo-Pearl hang around!"  
  
"...no, I don't want that. It's gonna feel weird to have a fake Pearl while the real Pearl is still reforming. Can we get rid of Holo-Pearl?"   
  
Earnestly, Bismuth would admit, "I didn't expect you to say that, honestly... but yeah, Holo-Pearl is kinda creepy, and definitely not as fun. Unfortunately, Holo-Pearl can only really go away if one wins a battle against them. But I think we can manage that, right?"  
  
Standing up and wiping her tears, Nora would give a nod, feeling excited to beat Holo-Pearl with two Gems she rarely has a chance to spend some personal time with!  
  
With some voice-operated custom settings put in place which created two additional Holo-Pearls, due to it not allowing a three-on-one fight, they would begin to conduct this very unusual duel. Bismuth took out her Holo-Pearl quite easily, forming a giant hammer to smash them into dust. Spinel would be next shortly after, wrapping her arms tightly around her before causing her to burst like a balloon.  
  
However, Nora was beginning to fear that her confidence had given her bad luck, as she was stuck on the defense using her shield to block attacks.  
  
"Why not use your pink powers to take her out?" Spinel asked as a way of encouraging her, knowing that was one of her surefire abilities to win a fight.  
  
Whining, she would admit, "I-I want to do it, but I can't! I think it's because she looks so much like Pearl that maybe I can't get super angry at her!"  
  
"Hmm, that is a predicament... well, it's not like you need those powers for everything! Shields may be mainly defense, but I'm sure you could find a way to make them into a great weapon!"   
  
Thinking about this, Nora would soon formulate an idea. She'd perform a shield bash to push Holo-Pearl back, before she would wind up and... toss it at a nearby pillar, and cringe as she watched it bounce around from one pillar to another, leaving cracks in each. However, this would allow it to eventually ricochet back and slice right through Holo-Pearl like butter, causing her to disappear! Wow, it almost felt like she did that on purpose!  
  
Amazed by this sight, Spinel would praise while hugging her, "You were so good just now!"  
  
"Aw, you're too nice! Um, does this mean Pearl's gonna reform soon?"  
  
Looking down at Pearl's gem, Bismuth would respond with a smile, "Nah, Pearl likes to take a bit of time. But I think not having to expend energy to keep Holo-Pearl around will cut it down a few days."  
  
Three days later, Pearl would reform and receive quite a hug, and plenty of praise on her new form from the other Crystal Gems. She would definitely appreciate to learn of Nora's great progress in combat! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've received some comments saying I should elaborate on Nora's appearance, so I figured this chapter could assist in that regard. Now, let me know what story you wanna hear regarding Nora and the others next! I'm sure I could spend some time with a non-episode story that shows dynamics of characters who rarely get to be paired up.


	17. Wrong Place, Right Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora decides to take Connie to the movie theater, maybe as a first date? However, Lion isn't good with directions, but does provide more interesting locale...

The latest trailer for Kittallica, an adaptation of a popular cat-themed cyberpunk dystopia novels, just came out to the delight of Connie and the confusion of Nora, who had never heard of the franchise. However, Connie assured her that it was sure to explain everything she needed to know about it when they watched it in theaters- she had read plenty of interviews that showed the creators of the film intended it to be a great entry-point for newcomers as well as a delightful experience for long-time fans like herself. Surely, it was going to be a beloved film franchise to match the books in influence!

Really, though, Nora wasn't exactly particularly thrilled about the movie specifically. Sure, she loved cats when not accidentally shapeshifting into them, and the soundtrack from Kerry Moonbeam seemed like it'd be a real toe-tapper. However, what she cared about most was that this could be an amazing way to have a first date with Connie! She found her to be so fun to spend time with, and she seemed so interesting! Nora was already used to magic and all that jazz, but Connie actually has hand-eye coordination, and knows math, and is knowledgeable on what presidents are! She was far more interesting than just pulling a shield from a belly button!

"Are you sure we're allowed to sneak snacks into the movie theater, Connie? It feels like that's not okay, for some reason."

With a handful candy in her hands, Connie replied, "What isn't right is theaters extorting their consumers by overpricing the smallest of commodities and then expecting people to not find ways around it. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because we only get in trouble if we get caught, and I've never gotten caught before!"

"...right. Oh hey, wanna see if Lion can ride us there?"

The bespeckled girl admitted sheepishly, "Uh, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Nora would soon lead her outside, where Connie would end up accidentally dropping their haul in shock at the dazzling pink beast in front of her. It was simultaneously terrifying and glorious! Of course, the terror of it was quelled when Nora spoke to the creature like a housecat, and thus it became adorable.

"I think we can hop on his back and then just tell him where we need to go!" she'd explain with an excited smile.

Shrugging her shoulders, Connie would remark, "I mean, it's not that far a drive, right?"

"Eh, it's not really about saving time, more so just having a more interesting experience."

Nodding her head, she'd comment, "Just like Robert Frost said, you take the road less traveled by and it makes all the difference! Well, not really a road, just a magical technicolor steed, but you get what I'm saying."

Nora didn't, really, but pretended she did.

Soon, the two were on Lion's back, and Nora would dramatically call for him to take them both to the movie theater... only to receive only a yawn in reply.

Chuckling awkwardly, Nora would assure her companion, "H-He's just joking, he's probably about to do it. Right, Lion?"

All that happened after that was Lion sticking his tongue out and moving to lick at his own nose.

"Eheh, gross. Um, maybe we can have a magical Lion ride some other time?"

Shaking her head, Nora promised, "No, I think he's just not used to getting commands. He used to follow my mom, and after she died, he became a bit distant. Hm, maybe if I got to know mom better, I could-"

Suddenly, Lion would jump up and begin to run at full speed, causing the two of them to move to clutch onto his mystical mane tight like reins on a horse. Opening his mouth, he'd let out a roar that created a large portal in front of them, and soon jump right through it!

"W-what's going on...?!"

Before she could answer Connie, Nora found that they had landed... in the desert. 

The sudden change of heat aside, the owner of this big feline would be mostly confused and question, "W-Why would Lion take us here? I know this is where they found him, but-"

"N-Nora, look..." Connie urged, elbowing her and gesturing to something that had to be seen to be believed, even for someone who knows Nora. 

There half-buried in the sand seemed to be two giant pink mechanical... things, which seemed to go on forever into the sky and shine bright like they were freshly polished. They were positioned in a way to lead the eye straight to a relatively small building, which Connie and Nora would walk toward while awkwardly holding hands, as they wanted to keep in mind the fact that this was still supposed to be some sort of date.

At first, when they got to the other side, they were disappointed by the presence of a keyhole that indicated a lack of access inside. Interrupting these negative thoughts, they'd be alarmed by the sudden sound of Lion beginning to hack and cough, as if about to spit up a hairball. However, this would end up being a direct solution to their previous concerns, as Lion wasn't merely coughing up a dead animal he had eaten before- he was coughing up a large pink key! It was the perfect size for the building's locked door, and it did did its job incredibly.

The two gals would gasp in amazement at the sight of everything in this storage facility of sorts. Boomerangs, helmets, shields, swords, and other types of military equipment laid all about, and on the flipside, mundane objects like lamps and tables were visible. 

"This is so neat, but I wonder why Lion took us here..."

Answering the question, Connie would exclaim, "It's your mom, Nora! You mentioned wanting to get to know your mom better, so this must be where your mom kept everything she left!"

"W-wow! Hm... the Gems say that mom used to keep a lot of secrets, so maybe it'd be a good idea if I got all of this stuff and brought it to them! It'd take a lot of bubbling, though..."

Pondering herself, Connie asked, "Can't the Gems keep stuff in their... Gems? Maybe you can have Lion bring them over and we can work on getting this stuff back!"

"But, w-what about that movie?"

With a dismissive hand gesture, the bespeckled girl remarked, "Heh, it's not like I had seats in advance, we can always just watch it another day. But this is a far more exciting kind of date! I mean, uh, you know, special hang-out?"

"Eheheh... nah, it's a date," Nora giggled, and the two would blush and laugh awkwardly before enacting their plan!

The Gems were surprised but only to a mild degree about Rose's secret landfill- the concept of her hiding something from them was nothing new, and they'd apparently grown to accept that she was a person who felt like hiding a lot of things. And they were all on board with assisting in this "take all of this stuff back to the Temple and get it sorted out" plan!

At one point, Nora did ask about those giant pink things in the sand, and Pearl would chuckle and try to come up with a good explanation. However, Garnet would interrupt and explain that there was a tape that she could watch that would be helpful in elaborating on that side of her mom. She'd hold up the tape she found in the Landfill in response, but Garnet would shake her head and point to Lion's mane.

As the Gems and Greg took care of all the stuff they brought, Nora would invite Connie to watch the premiere event of a different nature. Nora knew mom was complicated, but the Gems had always been nervous on finding the right way to explain it, and often resolved that issue by simply pushing it aside for when there was a more opportune time. However, now it seemed like she'd finally be able to get all the answers that had seemed absent...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to take certain episodes and twist them around with new situations based on what we now know of the events of the show, hope you guys like it too! I figured that it was only a matter of time before we had an early PD reveal for Nora, given that it isn't a surprise to the others anymore (though fourteen years is still short for Gems, so they're probably still processing it too).  
> Now, I don't want to spoil too much, but how would y'all feel about some season one parallels involving swapping out characters for others? I'm thinking something along the lines of Squaridot for Peridot, and Aquamarine for Lapis. I mostly ask because I wouldn't want to have nothing to do in the spot where Mirror Gem would've happened.


	18. Torn in the Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having just learned of who her mom really was, without any of the details left out, Nora visits her mom's to try and figure out just how to feel about her.

The video tape ended, and was removed from the little box TV still kept in storage after all these years. Connie was dazzled to learn of Nora's true origins, thinking this was even more like one of her books than she originally thought! Nora, though... was confused, in a way she had not anticipated.  
  
All the questions should be answered by now- she knows why she exists, how she exists, and who her mom was. The Crystal Gems all confirmed afterward that what she said in the tape was true, truer than anything else. However, something still felt weird to Nora...  
  
What is she expected to think of her mom now? It seems so complicated and muddled, nothing like what she had hoped.

But what _had_ she hoped, anyway?

Perhaps Nora just wanted a clear-cut 'yes' or 'no' to the question of _Is My Mom a Bad Person_ , and all she got was a very complex individual who seemed to be doing a variety of good and bad things for bad and good reasons. Certainly, Nora thought that if she existed because of her mom, she should love her. However, she hurt so many people, both incidentally and directly.  
  
It was hard to try and say any of this in front of the Gems, because she expected them to want her to be satisfied. For so many years she's been uncertain of her identity, and now she could understand that she was the daughter of Rose Quartz, formerly known as Pink Diamond; the one who gave up her status to fight for the freedom of Earth and Gemkind alike, and gave up her physical form to bring someone completely unique into reality.  
  
But then again... this was definitely not what she had envisioned that her mom's true identity would be like. Not a despicable villain, not a glorious hero... but someone about as flawed as Lars.  
  
However, she felt eager to move past this, and she felt the best way to do that would be to visit Rose Quartz's own room. She either never thought to go in there, or never felt like she was worthy. Now, though, she had no idea whether she was any better or worse than her mom, so it made it feel like it wouldn't matter if she went in there. And so...  
  
...she stepped into a world of pure pink, with pretty white clouds interspersed in there.  
  
"Okay, this is uh... not what I had in mind. Then again, that's basically the title of my autobiography at this point, eheheh... aw, it's no fun to self-depreciate if nobody cheers me up afterward. Hm, the rooms are supposed to give the Gems what they want, so... I want to see my mom!"  
  
Soon, her mother appeared in front of her, in her Rose form rather than her Diamond form. After all, she felt much more comfortable that way. She smiled at her gently, but gave a somewhat sad expression. It was as if the room knew what Nora knew, and made Rose act in a way to reflect it.  
  
Uncertain, Nora would ask, "Are... are you really here?"  
  
"Eheheh. I'm sorry, but... I can only be as real as you want me to be. And I know you must be confused already."  
  
In response, Nora just gave a sigh and admitted, "Y-yeah... I thought I had you figured out before, but..."  
  
"There's always more to learn about someone than what you've known. I'm sure there's plenty you don't know about yourself."  
  
She definitely agreed with that, but it felt odd to do that when she knew that most of what _Rose_ was saying was just what was already inside of Nora's head. What could she learn from someone who was just built from her own perception of her?   
  
Slumping to lie on her back, facing up toward her holographic mother, she'd comment, "I feel so dumb right now."  
  
"Don't say that! You're far smarter than anyone gives you credit for!"  
  
Laughing lightly, she'd remark, "I-If you're saying that, that just means I'm trying to cheer myself up."  
  
"Maybe, but perhaps that just means you know your worth but don't wish to admit it."  
  
Wow, was this all inside of her head and she didn't realize it? Perhaps this room was more helpful than she thought. Of course, it wasn't going to give her the resolution she desired, or the conclusive answer of whether Rose was a bad person... at least, she didn't think so.  
  
Standing up and stepping closer, she'd give her mom a shy hug and mutter, "Y-you don't make any sense to me."  
  
"I don't need to make sense to you, do I? I've never been apart of your life, so all that matters is that you appreciate what's there," Rose Quartz would assure Nora, patting her on the head.  
  
Stepping back, Nora asked, "W-why aren't you defending yourself, or anything? You're just... being nice."  
  
"I can't defend myself if you don't envision me to do it. And there's nothing I've done that either needs or is worth defending. It's either already proven its worth or is too bad to let slide. And you don't need to hear me say why I did something you weren't there for- what you need to do is solve the problems that need solving."  
  
She'd wipe a tear from her eye before giving a nod, turning and walking out of the room, feeling... mostly satisfied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are, back to the story! I really missed writing this, honestly!
> 
> At this point, I feel like I can only hope that maybe I can try to do a weekly weekend schedule, but if not, going bi-monthly isn't too bad based on the work I'm usually doing. I'll see about starting a second fic on the side, based on the aro-ace Peridot headcanon!
> 
> It was somewhat tricky deciding where to go next, but I think going for Rose's Room seemed the most logical at this point! Just let me know where you want things to go, since we have several episodes coming up that will be very important~


	19. Insert Training Montage Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After seeing just how cool and buff Garnet and Amethyst's fusion is, Nora feels excited to try and become that strong.

The gems didn't normally need to convince Nora that much to get her to come along on a mission, as she was often excited enough about helping out that just the mention of something gem-related would get her off the couch. However, she almost wouldn't have joined on this particular day if her current activity- watching television- hadn't been interrupted. She was quite devastated to learn that some sort of Gem communication device was emitting weird energy waves and disrupting the TV signals, and now she felt like she had to join the rest of the Gems to help stop it!  
  
When they got there, it was quickly observed that there was no real way for any individual Gem to take it out on their own. There wasn't enough water surrounding the Hub to be able for Lapis to help out too much, so all she could do was fly up for a good angle; Peridot didn't see any metal large enough to make a dent into the tower; Bismuth and Garnet were strong, but not exactly 'destroy an entire building' strong; Pearl was more about close-combat than anything on this size; Amethyst's whip was not fit for squeezing concrete apart; and Spinel, well... she was often not especially skilled in fighting in general, due to being more for humor than anything, so this was far out of her field.  
  
"Hm, are you and Amethyst gonna need to fuse again?" Nora asked, looking to Pearl eagerly.  
  
With a shake of her head, she'd reply, "Oh, no, I don't think Opal will be needed. Hm, Garnet, do you think that _we-"  
  
_ "I know you want to fuse, Pearl, and I love forming Sardonyx. But we need raw strength. Amethyst and I will form Sugilite."  
  
Soon, all the Gems were looking mighty excited by the prospect... apart from Pearl, of course.  
  
Nora was the most excited of all, though, having only seen one fusion before and being pumped to see another! Democracy ruled in favor of Sugilite being formed, so Pearl would have to silence her concerns as the two began to do quite the provocative dance. Finally, with Amethyst jumping at Garnet like a puma, the two would begin to morph and grow drastically in size...!  
  
With purple skin, nearly black hair, four arms, and five eyes, Sugilite was quite a different-looking fusion compared to Opal. Opal was like a majestic swan, while Sugilite was a full-on rhino! Well, a rhino who could punch really well, at least.  
  
After encouragement from most of the gems, apart from Pearl and now Bismuth (having grown some slight concerns upon remembering how excited she could get), Sugilite would summon forth her flail and begin to swing, smashing pillars without much caution.  
  
"Man, it feels so good, just wreckin' stuff! Don't you think, Pearl?"  
  
She'd glance away from the towering fusion, muttering, "T-that is not my strong suit..."  
  
"Hah, yeah, I know. Yo Nora, take a good look at this one!"  
  
With that, Sugilite would bring her flail down vertically on one of the pillars, causing pieces to fly by in all directions! One of them zipped by Nora, who would wince and cover her side in hopes of hiding the injury...  
  
However, Spinel would notice the behavior and slink over, lifting her shirt just a bit to see... a painful-looking cut, already bleeding!  
  
"O-oh geez, oh no! Nora, you gotta go!" Spinel exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her and lifting her to bring her back to the Warp Pad.  
  
Pearl, noticing the situation, would call out to the others, "At least one of you should stay here and make sure Sugilite doesn't go out of control, okay?"  
  
"Yeah, Lapis and I can take care of it!" Bismuth promised, giving a salute, while Peridot was eager to get out of here due to not being in very comfortable territory.  
  
Soon, Nora waltzed into the Big Donut, letting out little whines due to the bit of pain she was still feeling. Lars, noticing, would lean on the counter with intent to potentially tease her over whatever was inconveniencing her.  
  
With a weak wave, she'd explain, "Hey guys, I would've been here for my donuts earlier, but I got a bit of a combat injury..."  
  
"Ah, yeah? What was it, a little scratch or-"  
  
She'd soon lift her shirt slightly, revealing a large bandaid on her side, still a tad red.  
  
He'd grow silent quickly, telling Nora, "Um, h-hope that gets better..."  
  
"Oh, I'll be better in no time! Hey, I bet if I train real hard, I'll be strong enough that I can shake off anything from Sugilite!"  
  
Sadie, seeming concerned, would ask, "Don't you think the more reasonable option would to be... um, resting up?"  
  
"Hm, well, maybe, but... I'm worried about falling too behind to be able to contribute to the team, honestly," Nora admitted with a sigh.  
  
Tapping her on the shoulder, Peridot would soon get Nora's attention and inform her, "If you're concerned about that, I feel as if we could try some sort of combat exercise. From my observations, we are fairly close when it comes to physical ability."  
  
"Wow, okay, sure! You think Lars and Sadie could join?"  
  
Peridot, glancing at the humans, would just give a shrug of indifference and gesture for them to follow if they wanted.  
  
Soon, Nora was basically trying to start an outdoor training session, with Peridot being the leader while Nora was essentially the spokesperson. Lars and Sadie decided to try it out mostly because they wanted to give the kid a confidence boost, while Greg would decide to participate to make sure Peridot didn't push her too far. Spinel even gave it a try, finding the idea of pumping iron to be pretty fun. And inside, Pearl was ruminating on the fact that she was still idolizing the strength Sugilite displayed, despite the pain it had caused her.  
  
Folding clothes by the window, she'd ask out loud, "What does Sugilite have that I can't give Nora with my training...? Hm, that makes me wonder if Bismuth and Lapis are doing alright with her... eh, they're smart, they can handle it."  
  
The training of Nora, alongside the three humans, would go on until the sun began to set. The pain was only gradually subsiding in her bandaged-up wound but she was feeling very pumped up from the training Peridot gave, which was fairly simplistic but managed to entice her fairly well. Peridot was chugging along with no sign of tiring, and Nora was managing to keep up fairly well, but the rest seemed ready to stop and perhaps start up again at a later date. Luckily, there would soon be something to bring their attention toward- Sugilite bursting forth from the ocean, with Lapis flying just ahead and Bismuth on Lapis's back.  
  
"S-sorry guys, we tried to keep her company, but she got bored really fast," Bismuth would exclaim, before promptly being dropped toward the ground, landing with a grunt on her feet.  
  
Lapis, gliding to a stop, would chastise, "Please don't ride on my back again, it felt like I was gonna poof."  
  
" _You guys left me behind!"_ Sugilite exclaimed in anger, pointing to Spinel, Peridot, and now Pearl as she stepped outside in concern over her arrival.  
  
With a casual wave of the hand, Spinel would reply, "Oh, sorry Sugah, Noar just got a bit roughed up! But hey, you're back!"  
  
"Yes, we're all happy to see you again, Sugilite! Why don't you unfuse and then-"  
  
Not having it, Sugilite would summon her flails and smash the outdoor gymnasium set up by Peridot and Nora, and Bismuth would run to defend the child from any debris. 

Gasping in disbelief, Pearl would chastise, "You need to stop this right now!"  
  
"Stop? I just started, babe!" she'd exclaim, swinging her flail around in the air and aiming for Pearl, who would promptly jump to dodge, having to do a tuck-and-roll and still getting a bit of sand in her eyes.  
  
Exasperated, the spear-wielding gem warrior would proclaim, "S-she's... she's too much for me! I don't know what to do..."  
  
"Pearl, you can do it! You're strong!" Nora exclaimed, raising her fist, although she wasn't exactly brave enough to come out from behind Bismuth.  
  
Whispering to Peridot, Lapis questioned, "Couldn't I just like, use some water chains to try and pull Sugilite back apart?"  
  
"I believe Pearl needs this as part of her emotional growth, so we can overlook that," the smaller gem remarked as Pearl and Sugilite began to engage in a battle of brawn vs. brains.  
  
The fight would carry out toward the cliff where moss had once then carried in order to blossom, and Pearl just barely avoided falling off the cliff in order to trick Sugilite into making that mistake, her weight being too much to keep balance. While Pearl felt excited that she had won the fight, part of her felt bad she couldn't come to some peaceful resolution here...  
  
Soon, returning to the Beach House would be Garnet and Amethyst, looking rather ashamed of themselves. However, Pearl would apologetically give them a hug to show that there were no hard feelings. In fact, it would soon become a group hug, as all the Crystal Gems showed their appreciation! How touching.  
  
And Lars and Sadie really didn't have to be there, but they were sort of glad they were, since they did gain some slight muscle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist giving Sugilite some spotlight, and I figured there is a good excuse to have her pop up.


	20. Summer Fun Buddies!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora takes a bad situation and decides to use it as an opportunity to bring humans and gems together for some beach-themed fun!

The Crystal Gems try to be as careful as possible when disposing of monsters, and this was no exception, with all of them aiming to keep from letting anything get destroyed. However, accidents can happen, and this accident involved Spinel and the Fish Stew Pizza sign. Amethyst had the idea to grab her by the feet and use her as a new kind of weapon, swinging her around until she stretched out enough to grab the monster, but in the midst of this, she got flung at the little gimmicky restaurant and broke the sign down the middle. And now, she was trying her best to apologize to the heavily agitated owner while everyone else tried to skedaddle out of there.  
  
"I feel kind of bad- shouldn't we do something to pay for the sign?"  
  
With a dismissive shrug, Peridot told Nora, "We already protect their lives, they should be glad more didn't get broken."

"Hey, that's not a nice attitude! I wanna help!" Spinel proclaimed, feeling amped to do more, since she didn't really contribute to that last fight besides being used as a human battering ram.  
  
Pearl, with a glance away, would admit nervously, "We don't have, well... any money, and if we wanted to pay them back, we'd need to take money from Greg's bank account."  
  
"And Greg can _not_ afford what that sign costs, even if we get stingy," Garnet would add in a bored tone.  
  
Thinking over it, Nora would offer, "Maybe if we can't physically fix this issue, we can emotionally fix it! Like, we can the pizzas could come together for some kind of... gem-human volleyball game!"  
  
"It'd be the Pizzas and I... and yeah, that sounds sweet," Bismuth would proclaim, channeling her inner Pearl before shifting back into her rambunctious personality, with Amethyst and Spinel jumping on board.  
  
Peridot, Lapis, Garnet, and Pearl would need additional convincing, especially since them being on the fence made it a tie if one still counted Nora in this vote. However, Garnet would budge and conclude that this activity would be largely helpful. Pearl would comply because she wanted to do what Garnet said sounded best, and Peridot and Lapis went along for the ride, thinking this would just be even more opportunity to show off their beach swagger.

Of course, it'd be realized that having this number of gems against so few humans was a bit unfair, so they'd end up getting the Frymans to join in... mostly because Mr. Fryman had the same issues as the Pizza father when it came to how the monster-fighting impacted his work regimen. Nora would go by Space Jam rules and have herself- the half-gem half-human- act as a referee, while the teams went as followed: Bismuth, Ronaldo, Kiki, Pearl, Peridot, Lapis (those two refusing to be separated), and Nanefua, vs. Jenny, Peedee, Spinel, Amethyst, Garnet, Mr. Pizza, and Mr. Fryman. It was made sure that both got their fair share of gem and human members alike to allow for a bit of bonding and team-building between these very different people.  
  
There would be some jabs thrown here and there before the game started, as was to be expected when they were starting on rocky terms; Mr. Fryman remarked something to Nanefua that he was about to beat her "just like in the Restaurant War," and Nora would need to blow her whistle and try and settle this new issue before it got out of hand. Then, Mr. Pizza said something snidely about how the temple looked like it was falling apart and that it must've been build without any elbow grease, unlike his family-made restaurant, leading to Bismuth giving an impassioned speech about the time and energy the temple took to create. Nobody would dare argue against her after that, with Ronaldo even almost looking like he just found someone who beat Koala Princess on his 'most inspirational women' list.   
  
The match would start and kick off quickly with plenty of intensity. People would go 1 v 1 at a time, meaning there were seven rounds overall. Nora made sure not to arrange anyone with any bias, wanting to make it purely a test of their skill and sportsmanship, and it was fairly effective. Spinel would prove that she had all the love of the game and none of the ability to play it, being beaten out by Nanefua in a surprisingly short time. She didn't make a fuss about it, though, giving the old lady a pat on the head. After that, Pearl would go up against Jenny, and a brief debate ensued about if clones were allowed to be used to allow for extra cover... though it devolved into a silly sibling argument with Pearl smugly chipping in about how Kiki was the only Pizza sister who was about to win.  
  
As the rounds went on, things began to look closer and closer, with Nora wondering if they'd need to have a redo just to get a clear answer. However, it would not really be the main focus for very long, as soon that crazy monster from before would rear its... well, not exactly ugly head, but it wasn't great to see at that very moment. The humans would both be afraid of it and be annoyed by it interrupting the game, and even the gems who initially were skeptical on this seemed quite bummed that they couldn't continue to pass around the ball.  
  
In a humorous twist, the seemingly innocent game of volleyball became part of the method to defeat the pufferfish monster... well, sort of. Bismuth grabbed Spinel, and Garnet grabbed Amethyst, and both would end up getting turned into balls that were hurled at high speeds at that thing! The impact against the ground created a crater of sharp glass, and while at first it looked like the pufferfish was defeated instantly, one would notice that out of the water now emerged two smaller ones...  
  
"Wow, this is just like my video game! Except instead of jumping on them you hit them with people, and instead of walking side to side-"  
  
Interrupting Nora's remarks, Pearl would grab her spear and hurl it quickly at the unfused and therefore less dangerous foe, leading to a swift removal of their physical forms. Pearl did the honors of bubbling them, and all the humans applauded their heroism.  
  
Trying to act casual, Ronaldo asked Bismuth, "So uh, would you ever consider showing a passionate human teen the way your uh... arm-changing works?"  
  
"It's shapeshifting, kid, and it is kind of hard to explain... I'm just glad you got them to accept it as 'not cheating' when it was totally cheating~"  
  
Instantly a playful argument broke out, with people demanding a redo of the game, and one person claiming that they'd have to wait for all the glass to be removed to play another round... and Nora was just so happy that this issue had been solved without making Greg even more broke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a lot of suggestions to try my hand at this, and figured, why not? Apologies for the wait, blame school...
> 
> ...and the fact that I've been really into The Ruby Family. I feel like I'm way easier able to follow the story and the characters there because far less is really going on. Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet not being there equal no big sources for information, no Rose drama, no fusion stuff except for the bare minimum. It's the polar opposite of this fic, where I'm adding in a ton of elements that I need to keep track of to see what changes.


	21. TempNoral Displacement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora gets her hands on what seems to be a time-traveling device, and ends up sending herself through the timestream into what appears to be... well, quite a different plane of existence.

Nora loved going on fun gem missions, so it felt so exciting that she was allowed to go to the Sea Shrine! Since it was apparently going to be a relatively simple mission, they didn't need too many people jumping in on the action, so accompanying Nora would just be Lapis Lazuli and Pearl. The latter would be pretty knowledgable on gem culture and which Hourglass was supposed to be the correct one, while the former would be able to handle any water-related incidents.

"So... Homeworld made time travel, and you guys just didn't try to use it?"

Rolling her eyes, Pearl would remark, "Time travel is incredibly complicated, and it's usually better not to mess with it. Plus, the Hourglass can be nearly impossible to discern from the others, and if someone fails to pick the right one..."

"Water floods the whole place, one hundred years, yadda yadda. But we got a Lapis on duty, so that won't be a problem~" 

The young Crystal Gem let out a cheer, leading Pearl to sigh due to being the odd one out in this ragtag group... the only one who wasn't treating this like a comical escapade, at least.

They'd begin to carefully look at the array of hourglasses that definitely all looked somewhat magical. Some were the size of Pearl's head, others were the shape of her nose... one of the hourglasses straight-up looked like Pearl, down to the cute ballerina pose. She'd have to urgently remind Nora that the funniness of the hourglass was not the right way to choose what to grab.

Lapis, glancing around, would spot an hourglass that almost resembled a lava lamp, and it very much intrigued her to the point that she'd reach over to grab it. After doing so, the whole place would begin to shake...!

To quell Nora's worries, Pearl assured her, "Lapis can take care of this, it's just water!"

"Um, not to be a downer, but... I feel like I underestimated how hard it might be to hold back a raging flood..."

It would be visible how much effort she was putting in, holding her arms out and grunting as she would manage to hold the water still- albeit, with some tremors. It wasn't like she could simply push the water back- they were in a gem-built location under the ocean, so it was like trying to fight against trillions of tons of force!

Feeling a newfound sense of urgency that was lacking due to Lazuli’s confident swagger, the young Crystal Gem would quickly grab the hourglass that she deemed the most lovely-looking and then would rush to the Warp Pad in anticipation. Pearl was next, and then Lapis would quickly let go before flying over and landing so they could all warp out at once before the waves washed over the entire place.

Sighing with exasperation, Pearl questioned, “Why did you feel the need to grab the first hourglass that interested you?”

“Eh, come on- it reforms every hundred years, not like we won’t ever get the chance to go back there.”

Chuckling, Nora would remark, “Easy for you to say, a hundred years from now I’ll uh… wait, will I still get old like a regular human, or stay the same age like you guys?”

“That’s… complicated. But I could’ve sworn I saw you grab an hourglass too, do you mind if we see it?”

With a smile, she held it up for the two to see, and indeed, it looked to be the exact one that was wanted!

Pearl looked absolutely flabbergasted but very excited as she proclaimed, "With this, we could do so much! Imagine if we could travel to the future and obtain technology beyond our current knowledge, or go to the past to learn of things that have been lost to time, or....!"

"Maybe we could go back and shatter the Diamonds before they ruin Earth?"

Looking a bit taken off-guard by the suggestion, the spear-wielder would remind Lapis, "We can't use this to significantly alter the past, it would be simply catastrophic! Who knows what may happen if even the slightest things are changed...? We'd create an entirely new timeline and shake the universe off balance!!"

"Eheheh, well, if it's that big of a deal, maybe I can just go to the future instead! I mean, no harm in seeing what's GOING to happen, right?"

Thinking it over, the other two gems would give a nod of agreement, finding it to be a fairly suitable idea. 

Dramatically, Nora hummed and began to... shake the Hourglass like a Magic 8 Ball, which wasn't the intended method as anyone would assume. However, she'd still evoke gasps from Pearl and Lapis, who would witness her vanish before their eyes in a flash!

Nora found herself traveling through what seemed to be a colorful stream, her body feeling more like a liquid than solid, although that didn't necessarily mean she had melted or anything. What was more likely was that she was going through a wormhole as she tried to think of where specifically she wanted to be. In her eyesight, so many possible realities flowed by... no wonder Garnet always dodged the question of how her future vision worked, since it seemed like the future was quite complicated with so many options for what may occur.

With a soft gasp, she'd ask herself as she narrowed her eyes in one direction, "I-Is that me... as a guy... and taller...?"

It appeared there must've been a mistake- that wasn't her, it was just a different time-and-space version of her! But it wouldn't matter now, as she'd begin to unconsciously travel toward this reality!

"W-wait, Hourglass, stop, this isn't-!"

A flash would appear outside the Temple, and a girl would fall from this burst of light and land facefirst in the sand. Given that the Beach House was being reconstructed due to a recent saliva-induced plant incident, people already had a lot to deal with, so perhaps they were more keen than usual on pretending that didn't happen.

However, one person definitely wasn't going to pretend it didn't happen, and that was Steven Universe himself. He wanted to make sure that if anything bothered Beach City, he'd be there to protect it... and he was in a lot of need of a way to feel helpful nowadays.

Pointing accusatorily, he would question, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"W-who am I...? Geez, where do I start?" the girl chuckled as she slowly stood back up, clearly a bit dazed after what might've been an unintentional arrival. "Well, I'm the daughter of a space tyrant who became a rebel against herself, for starters."

This would stop Steven in his tracks, and he'd question, "Y-you... you look, and sound like me, but..."

"I do...? Wait, I get it! Peridot told me that in her original timeline- long story, I can get to that a little later- instead of being a girl named Nora, I was a boy named Steven! But mom recorded two tapes depending on how I was born! Hm, I guess the Hourglass must've taken me here because it had trouble keeping it to just girl timelines..."

Steven marginally understood this better, realizing that her name must've been Nora, but then would think for a moment and question, "Okay, so you say you're using the Hourglass, but the only time I remember ever dealing with that was when I was still twelve, so-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm twelve years old. I get it, I look like an eight-year-old."

Waving his hands around, he'd proclaim, "No, I mean like- how do you ALREADY know that mom is Pink Diamond?! I didn't find that out until like... fourteen, fourteen-and-a-half years old!"

"Wow, it took you that long to find that tape? Guess maybe in your reality they were just more coy with it, but-"

Interrupting fast, he'd ask with a tone of great distress, "S-so you're telling me that in your timeline, mom cared enough to actually record a TAPE explaining the truth about everything?!"

"Okay, I didn't wanna get into all this, but in my reality, there was a bit of a thing where Peridot originally lived through one reality and then woke up and it was like, a bunch of years later, so she made a lot of changes to the timeline. It's a bit complicated, but-"

Steven could barely focus on her attempts at humor, laughing madly to himself while exclaiming, "I can't believe this-! Everyone keeps telling me I need to be happy about what I have, and that things could be worse, but look at how much BETTER things could be! Age twelve, and you already have everything figured out!"

"H-hey, calm down, it's not that serious! I mean, sure, I know mom is a Diamond, and I got a lot of moms around, but it's not like there aren't still problems! I mean, I don't even know how to fuse yet!" 

She hoped that saying this would get him to calm down, but he did not seem convinced... and soon, he'd turn pink and attempt to attack her in a fit of envy. This caused her to jump back in shock, tumbling to her back due to the sand not being particularly sturdy ground.

Looking angry as heck, Steven would proclaim as he stood over her, "I may not know why you came here, but I'll make sure you don't get another chance to show your smug face anymore...!"

"I-I'd hardly call me smug...!" she'd assure him, managing to summon her shield as he attempted to punch her from above, before promptly shield-bashing him back.

Backing up after managing to get to her feet, she'd urge him, "T-this isn't right, we're pacifist, remember? I'm the most like you there is, so you shouldn't want to hurt me!"

"T-that doesn't work anymore!" Steven exclaimed tears in his eyes. "And you're nothing like me! You have everything you could ever want, and you're happy, and I... I don't know what I want!"

He'd suddenly summon his shield and throw it at her, with it spinning in a way that looked quite threatening. However, feelings would begin to build inside of her, as she'd start to understand what he was saying... and start to really not like it.

She had no idea what this version of her- Steven- had gone through in his extra four years of life to make him feel and think like this, but he had no right to say that everything in her life was perfect, all while attacking her for no reason! Soon, she began to glow a pink hue, and...

...she'd jump into the air, and kick against the shield thrown at her as a way to get extra air, before summoning two shields and throwing both at once at him!

He would begin to channel his speed, even the birds slowing to a near stop as he dodged and rushed to give her a sucker-punch...

...however, she would match his speed, and proceed to jump over his fist and try to gently kick him down to keep him from attacking further. 

With a sigh, she'd go to her knees and take a breath, and plead with him, "Let's stop this, okay...? I don't want to get anyone hurt, and if people see this, we could damage the timeline...!"

"I... I'm just so tired... I'm tired of being weak..." Steven admitted, as his pink hue began to flicker and fade. "I'm so, so sorry... I thought you were just here to upset me, but... you had no control in this, right?"

She'd give a slow nod, and slowly she'd come toward him, and they'd shake hands...

However, she'd still evoke gasps from Pearl and Lapis, who would witness her vanish before their eyes in a flash!

...and then reappear, looking a bit bruised and battered, but still Nora. She'd collapse in exhaustion, assuring them she'd explain it all later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone gave the suggestion that Nora could use the Hourglass to wind up in our Steven's present, and while the mechanics can be questioned, I loved the idea too much to say no!
> 
> Instead of doing what the original episode did and sort of have everything get erased by the end, I figured this would be a fun opportunity for a straight-up Steven vs. Nora fight, with it remaining canon and in Nora's mind~
> 
> Hm, what next?


	22. Spit's Healing Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora discovers an incredible new power that... well, is going to definitely change things.

Nora and Connie sat on a checkered blanket together on top of a soft grassy cliff, both of them drinking out of their own juice boxes... although Nora definitely appeared to be in a lower mood in comparison to her bespeckled friend.

"Hm... Nora? Is something wrong? You look like you're um, a bit down, I think... also, did you always have a fence here?"

Letting out a sigh, the shorter girl admitted, "I'm not really sure if I'm ready to talk about it."

"The... fence? I presumed it was just put there for safety precautions, but-" 

Shaking her head, Nora assured her, "That's not the problem! I just don't wanna unload any baggage on you that you don't wanna deal with."

"W-well, don't you think you'd feel better if you talked about it? I'm not exactly known for being judgemental, am I?"

Slowly mulling it over, Nora would eventually relent and respond, "A-alright, but only if you let me try on your glasses."

"Alright... but you gotta let me try that juice."

Chuckling, Nora questioned, "Did you already finish yours? Alright, but it's mostly backwash at this point..."

They'd trade these seemingly unrelated items, and soon Nora would recount her harrowing tale...

Well, it wasn't really all that harrowing, now that she remembered. She, Amethyst, and Spinel were having a game of run-n-toss, where they just ran really fast while passing a kickball around. The goal was basically to keep catching without tripping or anything, and for a while, they were all doing great! At a certain point, though, Nora was skeptical about how safe this would be- the three of them being as short as they were venturing so close to the cliffside. 

"Don't worry, Nora, we're just fi-oof!"

  
Spinel got interrupted when Amethyst threw the ball and hit her in the face, which she proclaimed to be an accident quite fast, but it was a bit too late to make excuses. Due to the surprise hit, the pink gem stumbled to retain balance but would ultimately tumble off of the cliff and begin to fall...

A minute later, Amethyst and Nora managed to get down to where Spinel had fallen, and found she painfully landed gem-first on a rock, which appeared to leave a small but noticeable crack on it. It was not long before the rest of the gems came running to the site of the incident in no small part to how loud Spinel screamed when she plummeted.

Pearl, with a sigh, would lament, "If we had built a fence up there a while ago, we would've avoided incidents like this..."

"...and that's why we have a fence up here."

Connie would finish her long sip from the backwash-y orange juice that had been provided to her, and would question, "Is that really the end of that story...? That doesn't seem like it'd be enough to make you feel all that bad, since it was mostly Amethyst's fault."

"W-well... hmm..."

In a reassuring tone, she reminded Nora, "You can tell me anything."

"O-okay, well... after Spinel's gem got cracked, I found out that mom had the ability to heal people with her tears, which made me want to do that in order to help her. But it seemed like I wasn't able to muster up any tears magical enough to do anything! We ended up just using mom's fountain to heal her, and the gems were all like, 'I guess you're useless now, Nora!'"

With a slightly humored expression, Connie remarked, "There's no way they said that."

"No, but it felt like they did. Geez, it feels like I'm always gonna be the uh... hang on, let me just..." Nora muttered, counting on her fingers real quick. "Oh yeah, the eighth wheel! ...no, that doesn't work as well, eight-wheeled vehicles tend to be pretty cool."

Giving a shy smile, Connie reminded Nora, "It wouldn't be so bad, though, to be um... like me."

"Y-yeah, I guess, but... what if I can't go on any missions? What if they just leave me behind...?! If I can't get my powers, then...!"

Leaning closer to Nora, Connie assured her in a soothing tone, "Even without powers, you're still amazing to me."

This was... well, quite a lot to hear for the insecure kid. The two would lean forward close to each other, before ultimately having a quick kiss- nothing too crazy, just a peck on the lips, but it still managed to get them both rather flustered.

Then, Connie would let out a gasp of shock! Previously, she had been without her glasses and was straining to make out what Nora looked like a mere three feet in front of her. But her vision was clearing up, to the point that her vision was better now than it was when she was wearing glasses!

At first, Nora was completely baffled, before she would let out an excited squeal and proclaim, "T-the juice, that has to be it! I don't have healing tears, I have healing spit!"

"Oh wow, that is... certainly a scientific anomaly, but that's nothing new... s-so what should we do about this discovery?"

Thinking it over, she jumped up and thought of an idea, urging Connie to follow!

Soon, with Nora's guidance, Connie was inside the boiling room- and it fit its name, as the teenage girl felt like she was burning up in there. However, Connie was assured it would just be a quick in-and-out thing...

He'd take a bubbled gem out and place them in the living room, popping it before quickly moving to give it a lick...

As the gem reformed, it would start to morph into a more human-like shape, no longer just a strange centipede-like creature. Instead, they appeared to have a feminine appearance, as noted by their poofy hair... however, it would be a slight problem that the gem still had a beak and was unable to speak in more than garbled shrieks.

Obviously a bit confused and startled, Connie questioned, "Um, is this... good?"

"I mean, it's definitely not the best, but it's-"

The rest of the Crystal Gems would enter, interrupting her speech, and what would've been a magical moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, where would we be without some cute Connie and Nora stuff, mixed in with some actual big plot moments?
> 
> (Also, I settled it- I headcanon Nora with Kristen Schaal's voice!)
> 
> BTW, today's my birthday, which was why I was eager to get this chapter posted today!


	23. New Issues on the Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The healing of Nephrite leads to the discoveries of problems that had previously not been discovered...

"G-guys, l actually did it! I used my spit to make Connie see things without glasses, and now-"

The gems would suddenly take a fighting stance, urging Nora, "Get away from that gem, we don't know what she could do!"

"G-guys, wait, she doesn't wanna hurt anyone!" she proclaimed, wrapping her arms around the one-eyed gem in front of him, who simply squawked in concurrence. 

Thinking things over, Garnet adjusted her visor and concluded, "She is right. There is nothing for us to worry about, as long as we keep a good eye on Nephrite and don't push things too far."

"Ah, thanks Garn- wait, Nephrite?"

Smiling, Garnet explained, "That is her name. My future vision told me we'd be likely to learn that information and I figured it would be easier to say it now. It also says you may want to get some crayons and paper for her."

This confused Nora a bit, but she'd soon retrieve these art supplies and place them on the table, pondering for a moment what that could be used for, until...!

"Oh, Connie, do you think that he'd be able to explain in writing how she feels, and the gems can tell me what it means? Even though she can't speak, she probably writes in a fancy Gem language!"

Connie would give a nod, before admitting, "It is odd that you guys all speak English but have a completely different written language than us. Is that just a coincidence, or...?"

"In a vast, endless universe, some things are bound to be pretty similar. Plus, it is definitely very convenient," Peridot remarked with a casual shrug, letting the query of their English-speaking skill get brushed aside for the time being.

Soon, Nephrite would take a crayon in hand... and accidentally snap it in half. Then, she'd take another, and begin to write out what looked like an entire paragraph... that was completely incomprehensible to either Nora or Connie. Although, the longer she looked at it, the more Nora felt... a bit uneasy, perhaps.

She'd slide it over to one of the gems, hoping they could help to translate, and the first to take up the offer was Pearl- she really did like introducing her to Homeworld culture.

Soon she'd begin to read it aloud, starting with the following: "Hello, thank you for helping me express myself more clearly. The last thing I remember is being on a ship, one I was captaining. There was a big bright light, and my Hessonite told us we had to get off Earth. However, we were unable to escape in time. I hope that the Diamonds have been able to... avenge Pink Diamond, and... destroy Rose Quartz..."

Well, that may have explained why Nora was feeling the way she did just looking at the raw writing in front of her; hearing it read aloud in English made her start glowing pink, alarming man and scaring Nephrite into backing away. 

"Ah, I'm fine guys, it's just that it's kind of weird to hear about mom," she'd explain, taking a deep breath and simmering down a bit. "Um, do you guys know what she means by a bright light? Why would that be dangerous?"

The Crystal Gems then realized that the tape that Rose, or Pink, didn't give every detail that Nora needed to understand what transpired all those years ago. At most, it seemed that she knew that Rose had left her identity as Pink Diamond, and that doing so caused as many problems as they created. But it seemed that the only one privy to the details to what Rose chose to tell her was...

Peridot, now being turned toward, would confess, "When, um, Rose and I were working on the tapes, she had promised me she would be as up-front and honest as possible, but I had not been in the room when she recorded Nora's, so... I do fear she might've intentionally kept certain details vague so that she could still, well..."

"Cover for herself?" Lapis snidely remarked, with Peridot giving her a light elbow for interrupting her train of thought, and for not having a ton of tact in this sort of serious topic. 

Deciding to address the exact question asked, Pearl would raise her voice: "Nephrite was talking about the Corrupting Light. It was meant as the Diamonds' last resort against us, and as revenge for the supposed death of Pink Diamond, but... they planned for it to kill us, and it didn't, and it didn't kill the ones it hit either. It's called the Corrupting Light because that's exactly what it does- it corrupts the mind and body of whoever it hits, rendering them completely unrecognizable..."

It looked as if all of these reminders of what happened were really troubling Nephrite, to the point that she seemed close to reverting back into her old form. However, there was a solution that was soon found- Garnet would give her a kiss on the forehead, which seemed to instantly relax her for some reason.

"Garnet... um, what did you do that for?"

Casually, she explained, "I can give people a glimpse into their potential futures by giving them a kiss. I was able to calm Nephrite by showing that she has a good future ahead of her, and that her past troubles are nothing to worry about anymore. She will be able to remain like this for the time being."

That was cause for excitement, being able to at least partially heal a corrupted gem and then keep her from reverting back to her animalistic form, but attention was soon turned to Nora who was trying her best not to start glowing.

"N-Nora? Do you need a minute...?"

Shaking her head, she'd point to Pearl and urge, "T-tell me, do you know how many gems got corrupted...??"

"I can't give an exact number, but... the ones we have so far are around four dozen, and there are bound to be ones we've yet to find."

"So many gems were hurt... and my mom didn't even tell me... she was supposed to tell me everything...!"

She'd reach for her shirt, tearing it enough to expose her gem- the sight of it troubling Nephrite a little, and the fact that Nora was getting so upset she'd ruin one of her favorite shirts was upsetting to many. She'd slowly reach, fingers around her gem...

Qucikly, Connie would grab her arms and restrain them, urging, "D-don't do anything rash...! You can't just take your gem out and interrogate your mom, that's... probably not how it works!"

"It's definitely not how it works. That gem is Nora's now, not Rose Quartz's or Pink Diamond," Bismuth stated. "Taking his gem out would do nothing but kill her since the rest of her is fragile human flesh and whatnot."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she would admit, "I-I know, I know it's stupid, but... I have no way of knowing why she would hide all of this from me. Did she hide things from you guys in your tapes? Did she just want to fool me because she knew I would believe it...? P-Peridot, what did you let her...!"

"Don't pin anything on me, okay?! All I did was teach her how to prop up a tape recorder and how to edit the footage, and I gave a few script notes, but she decided what to disclose! But seriously, I thought we had moved past these issues already and would be able to-"

Interrupting, Spinel urged, "Hey, let's not dismiss how Nora is feeling! Pink Diamond lied to me too, but in the tape she made for us, she told me everything about how she abandoned me because she was like, afraid of confronting this and that... I would've been really mad if she hid stuff from me!"

Peridot would try to further explain her side of things, but soon Nora would rush out of the house crying, clearly still having some things she needed to deal with... 

...and then suddenly, after she had left the room, some weird multi-legged robot would crash through the ceiling. Peridot would scream out in frustration about things repeating, the other gems would declare that they needed to destroy and dismantle it fast... and Nora pondered if she even wanted to be involved, or if this would be one issue she should avoid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, happy new year's eve, or happy new year, depending on when you read this and when I post it! Wanted to get one more 2020 chapter of this out! 
> 
> Hey, did you know Peridot is confirmed to be 3,000, meaning that this story is actually fairly plausible? Yeah, crazy right?  
> Of course, that means that the first chapter about the specifics of what time period she wakes up in are wrong, but... still.
> 
> (I legit flipped a coin to decide if I should have the end of this lead into the beginning of my own Warp Tour, and I went for yes, because... well, I just wanted to get into some more conflict. And don't worry, more is to come involving Nora's mom issues- although I also plan to throw in some additional plotpoints!)


	24. Beware the Square Hair over There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot experiences deja vu, Nora feels immensely stressed out, and the gems try to sort out what's going on.

Bouncing outside, Spinel would wrap her arms around one of Nora's whilst urging, "You're gonna wanna come help us, that'll be some great learning experience!"

"Um, well... okay, I guess," she'd respond, a bit frazzled by the heart-shaped gem's sudden boisterous attitude after what seemed like a somewhat somber moment, but... that was sort of how Spinel functioned, bouncing back fast into her normal chipper self quite frequently. 

The gems had chased the robonoid- the name Peridot accidentally dropped for it- throughout the house, finally managing to tackle it... however, they pinned it down right on the Warp Pad, the one place it apparently wanted to be.

"Ooh, we're about to warp! Let's hold on~" Spinel chuckled, trying to fit on the cramped Pad, holding Garnet's arm and Nora's at the same time.

And there they went, dragged along by the little green robot's unclear motivations. Peridot looked very anxious, but wouldn't say why- she was briefly pressed by Pearl about if she knew what was going on, but she sheepishly admitted that she was afraid of impacting the course of events by revealing her knowledge on things. Plus, this was an intense situation and she was essentially just dissociating. 

Soon, they came to a sudden stop, Nora grunting and falling onto her back due to how quickly it happened. The Robonoid would scurry over to what looked like an even larger Warp Pad, and while at first most of them felt instinctive to go destroy them, Garnet would whisper that they should stay hidden and wait for this to play out- her future vision was telling her that something important was about to happen, though some of the details were a little fuzzy.

Appearing right there on the Galaxy Warp would be... what looked like Peridot, with square hair.

Everyone was glancing between the two Peridots with quite a bit of confusion, but Nora seemed to be really stressed out. She knew that the gems were aliens, but the concept of all of her friends and family having various duplicates and lookalikes across the galaxy really made her rethink everything she knew. Plus, it was pretty rough being tossed into a new adventure without warning already, and now she was laying her eyes on what may very well be a brand new kind of enemy that she'll have to try and deal with... and she didn't like having enemies.

Whispering to the others from behind the rock, Peridot would tell them, "If this goes the way I think it will, she's going to be here checking on the-"

"Yes, this is Peridot. Sadly, Hessonite, I have not seen evidence of the Light Prisms being in this area. Well, no, I haven't done a full sweep of the perimeter, but- hey, if they were around here, I would be able to see them from where I'm standing, don't use that tone of voice with me!"

Peridot was a bit flabbergasted- how many things did she manage to miss back then...?! 

Tapping her chin, Pearl would admit, "I think I've heard of these Light Prisms- they were these powerful weapons that were given to high-ranking gems, and I'm sure I saw them being used during the war..."

"Excuse me, Hessonite, I believe I am being distracted," the Peridot doppleganger remarked, before turning toward their hiding spot and blasting the large boulder into pieces with her Limb Enhancers. "Who might you be, and is there anything you have to say before I dispose of you?"

Before anyone could say anything, Nora marched forward and exclaimed, "Nobody is disposing anyone! I'm the daughter of Pink Diamond, who is ALSO Rose Quartz, so that makes me doubly powerful! And if you try to hurt my friends, then you're gonna feel sorry about it!"

"...oh, ahahahah, I understand now, you're comedians! Not only do you try to intimidate me with a little human sidekick, but you're even giving these ridiculous ideas like Pink Diamond being Rose Quartz and being able to have a human daughter! Move along, then, you're clearly nothing for me to pay any-"

Of course, being dismissed so easily like that definitely was not something that Nora enjoyed. This time, there wasn't any feasible way to quell her anger, as she would begin to glow quite a blinding pink color. She'd raise her fists in the air, and and move to slam them on the ground...

Gasping in shock, the Peridot would proclaim before warping away fast, "I need to tell someone about this...!"

Then, right as she disappeared, Nora slammed her fists against the ground and ended up creating quite a shockwave, and creating a large crack in the ground that extended to the Galaxy Warp- essentially splitting it cleanly in half. Sure, she didn't stop her from getting away, but...

Wait, what but is there? All that effort she put into that angry attack didn't even prevent the gem from escaping! And now, well...

She was exhausted and would faint into Spinel's arms, who was more than happy to catch her. 

Once the gems had warped back to the living room and had tucked Nora into bed, Pearl would turn to Peridot and ask her, "What did you think that uh... that other Peridot was going to say?"

"Eheh, remember that project we were working on with making a Drill that would burrow into the ground and stop a crazy Diamond experiment from destroying it? In my reality, I had been sent to Earth to check on that, and I assumed that this Peridot was here to do that as well."

Bismuth sighed and sat down whilst remarking, "Either way, we got our work cut out for us, between Light Prisms, Clusters, and these new gem baddies."

"Hey, nothing we can't handle, right? As far as I'm concerned, I welcome Homeworld to try and mess with us," Lapis would proclaim confidently.

Let's hope that confidence would be well-placed, as off on Homeworld, two gems began discussing their next potential moves...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, it's Squaridot time! Only fitting, since Hessonite is relevant now. Let's see what chaos can unfold...


	25. The Music Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora is having trouble dealing with all this information and soon finds a distraction.

It was not that long ago that things were simple for young Nora. She didn't have to fear something in the core of the Earth destroying the planet, and her apparently being needed in some way to deal with that. She didn't have to constantly face off against aliens and worry that she may not be able to control her powers and keep herself from hurting people with them. And she especially didn't use to think that these sorts of round-the-clock adventures were exhausting. Indeed, Nora used to genuinely jump for joy at the thought of a Crystal Gem mission.

What exactly changed? Maybe it was the fact that she used to think of those missions as nothing more than games, on the same level as going to Funland and riding the merry-go-round. After all, the Gems never took her on very dangerous missions when she was younger- it was all pretty lowkey without a ton of danger, and often they amounted to simply observing things and watching the gems show off. Now she understood she had some sort of greater responsibility, and while she enjoyed helping people, there was a part of her wondering if it'd be better to...

...well, just be ordinary. 

She sat cross-legged on the beach now, taking deep and controlled breaths, trying to keep herself calm despite her many unhappy thoughts. Self-doubt rang in her head at how she didn't stop that square-headed Peridot from getting away, meaning they weren't able to keep her from reporting their presence; anger bounced around as she considered how she remained unaware of some of what her mom caused, including leaving so many gems in unrecognizable forms; sadness drizzled down from rainclouds, caused primarily by her grief people were hurting and she didn't know how she could help them.

Nora gave a glance back at the Beach House, where she knew all the Gems were expecting her. She felt like she should go back and explain to them what was going on, but she also felt maybe her own issues may distract from what they needed to deal with. It isn't as if she's their only responsibility- they're here not just to protect her but the entire planet, and she understood that one of those things mattered far more. If them keeping the world safe means she try to meditate on her own, she would manage on her own.

After a moment of thought and a soft hum to herself, she would glance around her immediate surroundings and see something odd. Was that... a shovel and a pail? The last time she remembered seeing one of these was from when she was young and she'd play with Spinel, making sandcastles and whatnot. Who would've left this here? Peedee, perhaps, but he assumed he'd be too busy at work... the best guess she had was that maybe this was something Onion let while he was playing. Knowing him, he probably used the shovel to pour sand right into his mouth.

Well, she's already sitting out by herself, might as well have a bit of harmless fun. Perhaps she can actually make a sandcastle that doesn't fall apart in a second...

She would send a good minute or two focusing on this, digging up sand to put it to good use, when eventually she came across something interesting. It looked like a small box, and there was a small handle to the side. Then, on the back of it, there was a shimmering blue tear-shaped gem with a single crack through it. It looked familiar to her, but she had trouble exactly putting her finger on it.

Anyhow, she found it quite fascinating. Was this just a music box that managed to get buried in the sand without anyone discovering it? Well, no harm in trying it out...

Slowly, Nora began to crank the lever around, listening as a series of melodic notes rang out. As she kept turning, she found it got easier to do it, leading to the melody pouring out at a steadier pace. It was really quite relaxing, and she'd end up yawning whilst she turned it. It was certainly quite lovely, and she felt an inclination to perhaps rest for a moment...

When she next opened her eyes, she was no longer in the place that she once was, but instead in the strange pink void that she remembered learning about from Garnet. This was her mindscape, a place she went when she wasn't focused on her physical surroundings. How was she taken here without even intending to go there, though? Was it because of that music box?

Suddenly, she heard what sounded like soft crying, and she would begin to take steps toward the noise, eventually coming across a shiny blue silhouette that resembled a little girl with a bow in her hair.

"Are... are you okay?"

The girl looked up, and Nora jumped back in shock- she was almost entirely blue, except for two things which were blank white: her eyes, and that tear-drop right below her left eye.

Gasping, she'd ask, "What's wrong, what happened...?!"

Her mouth opened, but all that came out was the music- and it sounded too sharp and offkey in a way hurt Nora's ears. However, she would begin pointing to that dear drop.

"Oh gosh, that must've been you in the music box... did you take me here?"

The girl gave a nod, before gesturing again to that gem on her cheek, looking very panicked...

Suddenly, Nora was shaken awake, and her eyes fluttered open to see Garnet standing over her. Quickly, she turned the box around to hide the gemstone.

Looking down at the young Crystal Gem, she'd inform her, "We are going to be working with Peridot on the Drill. Until we figure out more about these Light Prisms that... um, the other Peridot needs, this is our most important mission. Are you okay with being by yourself?"

"Um... yeah. I was just going inside, actually."

When she was sure that Garnet wasn't looking, she'd begin to dash inside, not noticing the glance that would be given toward her as she rushed in. 

She would soon sit on her bed, holding the music box and turning it back around to look at that cracked gem, feeling distressed that there was currently someone hurt and trapped that she needed to help. Luckily, unlike other situations, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

First, she would lick her palm and proceed to lather the crack on that music box with the spit and watch as it miraculously glowed and begin to fix itself. 

Next, she would put her fingers around it and start to pull, grunting as she took a tad bit of effort to get it loose...

However, it would work fairly soon, with the music box exploding in a cacophony of sound and the gem beginning to float off the ground and glow. She couldn't take her eyes off of it, with the previously completely motionless gem now forming a person around it. It looked exactly like the little girl she saw, except this time they had every color on them without any blank spots.

She'd fall to the ground, looking visibly tired, and Nora would step close to question, "Are you... hurt?"

"Huh...? No, you healed me already, I'm fine..."

The British accent and the slight sass surprised her, but it didn't take away the gravity of the situation. Here she was, having healed and freed a gem, and nobody else knew about it. How often was it that she just... kept secrets from the Gems, rather than the other way around? It felt wrong, but at the same time, there was something kind of exciting about it. Hopefully, it won't become a habit.

Nora would kneel down to get to eye level with the gem and ask, "Do you have a name? Er, I mean... what's your name?"

"I'm... Aquamarine. Who are you? Why would you free me? Did Homeworld send for you?"

Scratching the back of her head, Nora would admit, "Nobody sent for me, I found you by accident. I just knew you must've been distressed, so I wanted to do something to get you out of there. And my name is Nora, Nora Universe!"

"Alright, I suppose I can believe that Nora... but I'm a powerful gem, I could hurt you."

Chuckling awkwardly, she remarked, "W-well uh, you aren't hurting me now! I do kind of wonder, though, why someone would trap you like that."

"Hah, simple- I came to Earth with the goal to take out Rose Quartz and become a hero, but they poofed and imprisoned me! Figures as much, the Crystal Gems could never win without cheap tricks..."

Wait... the Gems did this...? Why would they do something like-

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and in a rush, he would grab Aquamarine and urge her to hide in the closet. 

This could be bad... hopefully, this Aquamarine fellow can hide well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Realized people might not have been getting notifications for this so I deleted that update chapter and put this in a new one!


	26. A.T.: the Aqua-Terrestrial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora seeks to hide the existence of Aquamarine from the rest of the gems, fearing they may want to trap her again.

Greg had been told by the gems that Nora was having some issues lately and that maybe it would do her some good to go on a bit of a road trip to clear her head. He definitely understood what they meant- when he came upstairs and knocked on her door, she answered back sounding pretty frantic.

"Ah, um, coming dad!"

  
Then he heard a bit of muffled whispering before the door opened, with her smiling at him nervously.

Patting her on the head, he would ask her, "Do you think it might do you good to get out of the house for a bit, and not on any dangerous missions?"

"Y-you think I can do that...? I thought the gems needed me for a ton of important-"

Interrupting, he assured her, "Nothing is more important than your own emotional well-being! Trust me, they'll be fine without you for a little, you don't always have to be thinking about saving the planet."

Giving a glance around her room, she would ultimately sigh and reply, "Yeah, I think you're right. I just hope everything will stay put while I'm gone."

"I don't know why you said it like that, but if you're really worried, I'll let Spinel know you want her to not take any of your stuffed animals."

His eyes scanned over all of her stuffed animals, including a cute blue doll that he figured she must've borrowed from one of the other kids around here, and he'd remark, "Must've been my imagination, everything's as it should be."

The door closed, and Greg would whistle calmly as he twirled his keys in hand and head back down so he could get driving.

Five minutes later, Aquamarine would find it safe to leave the safety of Nora's room- after all, the door had been closed when Greg left. She had gotten the message that Nora was sending about staying put, but really, she felt like that girl was underestimating how careful she could be. Obviously, she was no match for the Crystal Gems in an all-out brawl, but someone of her size is definitely capable of hiding while still moving freely.

Slowly, she would step to the bedroom door, managing to jump up and grab the knob to twist it shut. She felt herself lacking in energy to really spread her wings and fly due to only recently being freed of her music box prison.

Stretching her arms a bit, she would waltz into the kitchen and get the fridge open, wondering what exactly humans kept in these odd cold boxes. Soon she was pulling an odd brown bottle that was labeled 'not for Nora' with a sticky note.

"I guess this must be some concoction too powerful for someone as young as her. Luckily I am far more advanced than that..."

The lid was dropped to the ground and she would begin to sip this odd beverage. It had a bitter taste to it, but for some reason, it was a bit intriguing to her, so she would keep drinking...

It was not long until she had gulped down the entire bottle, and she now began to think that the reason that bottle was labeled that way was because it was intended as a poison and was made to trick one of the other gems. Her balding father must be more devious than he lets on, planting a drink that would leave a normally rational and sensible gem feeling this fuzzy in the brain and unable to think clear thoughts.

"Guh... I'm feeling as if my physical form has been filled with a deadly toxin, perhaps I should balance it out with one of Earth's delicacies..."

She would climb up to the cabinets and fish out a bag of Chee-Z Chaaaaps, soon popping it open and finding herself engulfed in a cloud of delightfully odorous dust that made her feel like she just had to try whatever was inside.

Lying sideways on the couch with a blanket over her while shoving chips into her mouth and watching television, Aquamarine began to ponder if this was more or less a betrayal of her created purpose. However, as she grew less and less capable of controlling her thoughts, she began to make a pretty bold statement.

Raising a dust-coated hand, she proclaimed, "I don't give a dang what the Diamonds think, I am Aquamarine and I do what I want! when I want!"

It was a bit awkward she said that as someone entered the room, that someone happening to be Spinel. 

The others had recounted to her how Aquamarine was a tough opponent and how that had to resort to trapping her to keep her from doing any harm, something they apparently never told Lapis about to keep her from being upset. Now this dangerous gem was proudly shouting in a drunken fashion how she placed no real value in the Diamonds' opinion of her on their couch. What was she to do about this...? Could she simply wrap her up and toss her out, or should she run and get help?

Wait, she was obviously not in a battle stance or prepared to attack. So why does Spinel have to do anything of that sort? 

Testing the waters, Spinel slowly sat down next to Aquamarine, waiting for her reaction.

"Mmm... w-what're, who're you...?"

Giving a smile, she'd reply, "My name is Spinel, do you wanna be friends?"

"Uh... why would anyone wanna be friends with me...? I'm awful, I deserve to be locked up again..."

This was getting awkward- now Aquamarine was crying and venting all of her emotional baggage, all while still munching on artificially flavored potato snacks. What was she supposed to say to comfort this vulnerable gem? All she knew about her was that she was supposedly sadistic and unfeeling, not that she had deep insecurities about herself and that she looked super cute and huggable!

Wrapping her armed around Aquamarine, Spinel pat her on the head and assured her, "You deserve love, don't worry..."

"Y-you mean that...? You're one of the nicest persons I've ever met, only second to that girl who released me..."

Well, that certainly explained a lot- they claimed that Amethyst worked hard to find a good place to hide it, but it was easily deduced now that she buried it under enough sand that nobody could just kick it out but not enough that someone wouldn't eventually dig it up with a shovel. And Nora was such a compassionate and caring person that it made complete sense she would free her once she realized she had been trapped in there.

Nodding softly, she replied, "Yes, I absolutely mean it! In fact, uh... do you wanna come with me and play for a bit, get a bit of exercise and ease your mind?"

Despite her current mental state, Aquamarine would soon jump up and nod excitedly, clearly wanting to spend some time with someone.

She would lift the short gem up and take her over to the temple door, placing her hand over it and causing the heart shape to glow, and soon it would open for her to step in. Coincidentally, some of the other Crystal Gems entered the Beach House just as the door of her room closed.

"Do you think Nora will be okay on this little excursion of hers?" Pearl asked Garnet with a bit of nervousness.

In response, Garnet would assure her, "I think she'll be fine, and she definitely needs this. My future vision is a bit fuzzy right now, but I can tell that this is the right option."

"Didn't Peridot go on about how we needed Nora for that Cluster thing? Seems weird we're sending her off on a break right now," Amethyst remarked as she would go over to the fridge to grab a drink. "Hm, hope Greg hasn't been doing any drinking before the trip..."

Scoffing, Pearl would assure her, "Greg is a responsible father... well, at the very least, he never drives while intoxicated!"

"Well, just sayin', we have a beer missing and I don't know why anyone else would be drinking it around here."

Garnet, shrugging slightly, would admit, "Spinel seems willing to try anything. Speaking of which, I haven't seen her in a bit, and we need everyone in the Barn soon to discuss our plans."

"Ah, don't worry, I can go find her! I'll start in my room and work my way to hers~" 

Gracefully, Pearl activated her door, and soon the other two would head off- Amethyst grabbing a pudding cup and a bottle of soda and Garnet pondering on the mess on the couch, not having envisioned that to be what the living room looked like. Smelled like alcohol and tears...

Spinel's room looked like a fantastical wonderland- a bright and beautiful garden with flowers that never had to be watered, and thus would never die, just like a gem! However, there was still a watering can where one could sprinkle some liquid onto the planets that would make them sparkle and grow taller than one could've expected possible! However, that was not what she and Aquamarine were doing in there- they were both joyously playing tag.

It appeared as if the still inebriated Aquamarine was far too easily entertained by this simple game, and Spinel had no idea how long it may last since she's never dabbled in alcohol herself, but she did hope she could expect a good long while of fun with her new best friend!

Eventually, Aquamarine would collapse to the ground while groaning, "I feel tired and heavy..."

"That's okay, taking a nap can be fun too! Maybe I can get some blankets and-"

Suddenly, she heard a familiar noise- someone was coming from another room into her room! Quickly, she'd grab Aquamarine and lift her up, obscuring her in one of her bushes!

When Pearl entered, Spinel would stand in front of the bush and greet, "Hey Pearl, how are things?"

"Oh, just fine Spinel, thank you for asking! I need you to come with me, though, we're all meeting in the barn to discuss our current plans for the future. Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot are already-"

They were both interrupted by a loud hiccup.

Smiling nervously, Spinel would remark, "Oh darn, you know how awful hiccups can be, I'm gonna need a sec-"

Then, a blue hand would flop out of the bush behind her, and she realized her cover was blown. Before Pearl could freak out, Spinel picked up the bush in its entirety and ran with it an Aquamarine out of her room and out of the Beach House! 

"S-Spinel, wait, don't just run off like that-!!"

Eventually, Spinel was exhausted and would collapse in the park, conveniently placing the bush down near some other similar bushes. 

Slowly, Aquamarine would stand up and groan, questioning, "What is going on...?"

"Eheh, a lot of things, really. But for the most part, we're kind of in trouble."

Aquamarine wasn't surprised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ye, this is a full-on E.T. parody now!  
> BTW, read criticisms on how sometimes the stories go a bit too fast, so I wanna help rectify that a bit by making story arcs last several chapters longer.


	27. Aqua Marine, Ultra Morose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aquamarine finds herself in a vulnerable emotional state as she ponders what her real purpose is anymore.

Aquamarine would find her headache fading and the alcohol in her system working its way out, although she had to find out in quite an undignified manner how the evacuation process worked. With all that said and done, she sat down next to her former place of hiding and picked a single forget-me-not from it.

"Hey, um, I don't think I ever got your name."

Glancing up at her, she would snidely remark, "I am above those sorts of introductions, or at least I should be... but I am Aquamarine."

"Heh, so I take it that you're someone important, right?"

There was a moment where the short blue gem felt the urge to exposit on her important role on Homeworld and how well-respected she was, but then she paused...

Glancing to the ground, she would mutter, "I'm not sure if I am anymore... if I was, someone would've tried to find me, and not just a child."

"Oh, Nora? She's not just a child, she's...! ...okay, I was about to tell you something really big, but I don't know if you'll react well to it."

Looking at Spinel with interest, she would assure her, "You can tell me, for I have nothing I can do with this information. Nobody is waiting to pick me up and using my wand to immobilize you... well, it would just waste my energy."

"Alright... Nora is the daughter of Pink Diamond, who is Rose Quartz, who faked her death!"

After a moment of processing this, like a computer having been given a significantly large file to download, she would soon gasp and proclaim, "That is absolutely maddening! How could someone keep a secret like that for so long?!"

"Well, for one thing, she gets really good at lying to those she cares about... really."

Slowly, Aquamarine would begin to ponder the implications of this- the reason for all of this war, and the reason she had shown up to Earth in the first place, had been a facade. If she had the energy and lacked the sense, she would be furiously screaming and pounding on the ground in frustration. Really, though, it was hard to work up the passion for such a reaction given what she's already been through today.

Kicking the dirt, she'd chuckle and joke morbidly, "If Homeworld only cared about me, I'd be able to tell the Diamonds all about this!"

"The Diamonds, wow, haven't thought of them in a while! ...wait, what exactly did Nora free you from? I think I might've missed some details..."

She would soon begin to explain her entire situation- around a decade ago, she had been sent to Earth on a mission to see if there were any remaining rebels to be identified, she got a bit overzealous and tried to attack Rose Quartz directly without any brute strength to help her. Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, and Rose ended up making the decision to imprison her without anyone else's knowledge, knowing how the others might feel.

And yeah, Spinel did not take this information well, chuckling in an upset way and stating in denial, "T-they wouldn't just trap you like that! I mean, that's something only Homeworld would do, r-right?"

"Oh, you're a bit naive. The Crystal Gems have the right intentions in mind, I'm sure, but that didn't mean they weren't willing to stoop to the level of Homeworld to do what they wanted. Rose's only stipulation was not wanting to shatter a gem, apparently, but she hardly succeeded at that- the war she caused lead to a ton of shatterings, whether Homeworld or Crystal Gem!"

Normally, Spinel would disparage such slander against people she considered her closest allies, but... she didn't know if she could bring herself to do it now. After all, her recruitment to their cause had never been in the most honorable of terms- she was saved from remaining in her perpetual state of abandonment under the false premise of someone saving her from Pink Diamond's cruelty after having killed her, only for that to turn out to be a falsehood, and there was far more that Rose apparently never bothered to tell anyone just to preserve her legacy a little. Why should she be surprised that the team she had joined weren't as pure and valiant as they might appear, fighting for the Earth but willing to take away the will of others who obstruct them?

Shaking a bit, Spinel lamented, "This'd be easier if you were just a baddie..."

"Well.... that's how I feel right now. I wonder, if I was even able to find a way back to Homeworld, would I find any purpose in fighting you and dragging you there? Blue Diamond reasonably would've sent ships to Earth to track me down, or Yellow would've told her."

Before much else could really be discussed, they would hear the sound of footsteps coming closer to the park, and Spinel would gasp, "Oh no, we have to hide you...!"

"I'm done hiding! Only three out of their ranks had the gall to imprison me, it's just a matter of convincing the others!"

Soon, the Crystal Gems were standing in front of Spinel and Aquamarine- everyone from Garnet to Lapis.

Pointing her spear at Aquamarine, Pearl would command, "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave this town now!"

"Hah, how was I supposed to do that if I was imprisoned and buried under your sands? Nice job on that, Amethyst, that was definitely a great hiding place."

Glances were shared among the group, with Lapis questioning, "Is this... true?"

"Um, I know this isn't my place, but... yeah, Aquamarine told me already, she was trapped in a music box and buried under the sand."

Now, there was looking to be a bit of a fracture in the Crystal Gems, between those who committed this act and the people who find it truly terrible. Soon, Aquamarine would fly up to land on Spinel's shoulder as she joined the latter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you don't mind a bit of angst!
> 
> (can anyone say Crytal Gems: Civil War?)

**Author's Note:**

> I saw people encourage the idea of me making a whole new story starting with the events of the show, so I decided to do it! Here's hoping this works as a first chapter for all of you! I heard ideas of Nora being like a mini Pink Diamond, so it gave me the idea of how to really contrast her against Steven when it came to their journey to mastering their power.


End file.
